Who we're endorsing: For Assembly Districts 6-11

The New York State Assembly has had such a lopsided Democratic majority for so long that there is no suspense over which party wins the majority, just over which coalition will dominate the agenda.

In 2022, the split between the major parties in Albany’s lower chamber was 107 to 43. Republicans as part of the red wave of discontent that November picked up five seats, making the partisan totals 102 to 48. But this still left Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) in command of a veto-proof two-thirds majority.

There are policy tensions among leftists, progressives and moderates and, relevantly for Long Island, between urban and suburban districts. Nassau and Suffolk counties remain an important base for the Republican caucus headed by Will Barclay from the upstate village of Pulaski. That requires local legislators to be nimble in making alliances with Democrats who are the only route to getting their bills to the floor for a vote.

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Endorsements are determined solely by the Newsday editorial board, a team of opinion journalists focused on issues of public policy and governance. Newsday’s news division has no role in this process.