NYC’s support for Trump signals a shift towards a more diverse GOP future
Back in 2013, I embarked on a journey working for a City Council campaign in Queens, where we were in dire need of more phone operators.
We posted an ad on a local job website, and shortly after, a young Hispanic man from northern Queens walked into our office.
When I informed him that he would be working for a Republican candidate, he seemed taken aback.
“I’ve never actually met a Republican before,” he responded.
He was probably telling the truth.
At that time, the Republican Party was virtually nonexistent in many parts of the city, including significant portions of Queens and Brooklyn, as well as most of The Bronx.
In the previous presidential election, Mitt Romney secured less than 5% of the vote in six state assembly districts in The Bronx.
Throughout the borough, he only received fewer than 30,000 votes compared to President Obama’s almost 340,000 votes — marking the worst Republican performance in the area.
So, when Trump announced a rally in The Bronx, it was met with skepticism by the left, with rumors circulating that he would need to transport white voters from other areas to attract an audience.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries tweeted, “The Boston Red Sox are more popular in the South Bronx than Donald Trump. Go home.”
While that may have been accurate for Republicans under Romney, the scenario shifted with Trump’s presence.
While Romney struggled to exceed 5% in six of The Bronx’s 10 state assembly districts, Trump received double-digit support in almost all districts in 2020, including those in the South Bronx.
In this Democratic stronghold within a deep-blue state, with virtually no well-established Republican Party, a natural evolution began to take place.
From 2016 to 2020, President Trump increased his support in The Bronx by 29,943 votes, whereas Biden only managed to gain 1,728 more votes than Hillary Clinton.
This growth occurred without any canvassing, advertising, or specific campaign funds directed at these voters.
The change was not limited to Trump alone.
In the 2021 mayoral election, Republican Curtis Sliwa garnered over 20% of the vote in The Bronx, with 25,843 votes — surpassing the last two Republican candidates, despite an underfunded campaign that was never seen as competitive.
Subsequent gains were seen in the 2022 gubernatorial election, with Lee Zeldin winning 22% of the vote, nearly three times the number of Bronx votes compared to the previous Republican candidate.
The last Republican to exceed 20% of the vote was Gov. George Pataki during his third term re-election in 2002, when the county had a higher proportion of white residents and more Republicans.
Unlike numerous other politicians who have spoken to predominantly minority audiences by using broken Spanish, ethnically ambiguous accents, promises of amnesty and improved healthcare, or painting them as victims, Trump addressed them as integral to the American experience.
“By the muscle and backbone and genius of the people of New York, we built the city into the towering forest of iron, aluminum, concrete and steel . . . We inspired the world,” Trump articulated.
“It was hardworking patriots like you who built this city, and it is hardworking patriots — and this is something, you can say it and you can say it a million times and you can emblazon it — it’s hardworking patriots like you who are going to save our country.”
Regardless of whether they were first-generation Americans, descendants of Ellis Island immigrants, or Mayflower descendants, Trump portrayed them as part of the working-class coalition that shaped New York City.
The concept of a multiracial, working-class GOP has become a Republican ideal over the past four years. While the party has achieved some success at the gubernatorial level, it is still a work in progress.
The 2024 election may not turn The Bronx into a Republican stronghold, but it could provide a glimpse of what lies ahead.
Ryan Girdusky is a Republican strategist. Reprinted from The American Conservative.
