Historically, the city's Republican officeholders have been considerably to the left of their national counterparts (with the significant exception of Staten Island). Labor and education politics are important. Housing and economic development are the most controversial topics, such as seen in the long debate over the building of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. An ability to deal with the state government is also crucial, especially on matters of education funding.
New York City is home to 12 of the state's 27 congressional districts, all but one held by Democrats. The Democrats have been particularly dominant in the city's federal politics since the 1990s; even before then, Republicans only had a realistic chance at winning three of the city's districts. With former city councilman Michael McMahon's victory in the Staten Island-based 13th District (now the 11th District) — historically the most conservative district in the city — the Democrats took all of the city's congressional seats for the first time in 76 years. The status would be short lived, as Republican Michael Grimm would defeat McMahon 2 years later. Due almost entirely to the Democrats' near-total dominance at the local level, the Democrats have held a majority of the state's congressional seats since the late 1950s.
Stu Spelling Bee 