Greg Hayman of Kirkville celebrates the Democratic wins at The Mizpah Tuesday night. Credit: Michelle Gabel

Waves of exaltation rippled through the Onondaga County Democratic Committee’s watch party Tuesday night as both local and national voting results trickled in: the people’s mandate had delivered a stunning rebuke of President Donald Trump’s second term with a wave of blue sweeping through every echelon of government. 

The upset that tipped away Congress from Republican control and knocked off the red wall in Texas and Mississippui was also seen locally, especially in crucial town government races like in Clay. Republican Joe Bick, who was filling in for the previous supervisor, lost to Democratic challenger David Capria.

Earlier this year, Kevin Ryan, the Republican commissioner for the county’s Board of Elections told Central Current that the Clay town supervisor race was likely one of the most important ones in the election cycle. Micron Technology is building a massive semiconductor manufacturing factory in the town. 

“For the first time in probably Onondaga history, but definitely in a generation, Democrats have effective control of county government as well as probably a majority of the towns and city government,” said Dustin Czarny, the Democratic commissioner for the county’s Board of elections. “This will be a chance for Democrats to show our vision of what government can do for people.”

According to Central Current’s independent analysis of the county Board of Election’s unofficial results of the 62 contested races, including gubernatorial, state and county legislature as well as town and village races, Democrats won 54 elected offices while Republicans won 8.

While Cicero was one of the very few towns to see Republicans gain control, towns like Salina, Manlius and Pompey saw a bluer stronghold. 

“This is a blue tsunami. The question is how high is it going to reach Onondaga County,” Spencer Berg, the campaign manager for 17 Democratic county legislator candidates, had said Tuesday night when voting results were trickling in. 

The county legislature Democrats seized a supermajority which was the biggest change compared to other New York state counties that saw similar flipping of seats, Berg confirmed Wednesday.

Ryan attributed the Democratic win to the national unpopularity of Trump’s policies, including rising living costs and the Iran war. He accused the Democrats of campaigning on federal issues instead of local policies. 

“The Democrats didn’t have to answer for their lack of progress in taking the majority (of the county legislature) last year, and they were just able to simply make the election a referendum on President Trump and adopt the campaign philosophy of ‘Orange Man bad,’” Ryan said. 

However, local Democrats emphasized coordinated campaigning having led to historic gains. The affordability crisis became the centerpiece of Democratic messaging against Trump across the nation.

Berg attributed local wins to the legislature candidates working on issues plaguing the community, including housing, water and road infrastructure. Legislators, both incumbents and newcomers, as well as town and village Democrats, conducted door-to-door campaigns, listening to people’s concerns, and winning over non-affiliated voters by delivering on promises since they got legislative majority, Berg said. 

“We won by a margin that suggests that it wasn’t just the upsetness; it was the work at the door, it was the work in our mailers and our messaging and our digital ads,” Berg said. “I think it would be such a mistake to look at how close these races were and make the determination that it was Trump’s doing. It was the hard work of these candidates who got us across the finish line.”

Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, said that two things worked in conjunction: suburbs are now more purple due to the influx of new community members. Democrats also leaned on the general sentiment against data centers and Trump’s immigration policies. 

“Add to that the national rejection and repudiation of Trump’s presidency and Republicans by extension, and you’ve got a potent brew,” Reeher said. 

The Republican losses come at the heels of Trump’s visit to Syracuse earlier last month as part of a nationwide campaign tour ahead of the midterms where the president implored Republicans to pretend he was on the ballot and turn out to support New York Republicans. 

“When I am on the ballot, we win everything,” the president had then said to a packed house of supporters. “Please pretend I am on the freaking ballot, will ya?”

Ryan was one of the only Syracuse Republican leaders who did not skip the president’s rally. Twelve of the 16 local Republican leaders cited previous work commitments and scheduled events, syracuse.com reported.

“What I’m confident will happen, is that [Trump’s] presence here will motivate the Republican base turnout and vote in November, so that we elect Republican candidates up and down the ballot,” Ryan said a day before Trump’s rally. 

Democrats saw the president’s visit as a galvanizing force for their November aspirations.

Trump’s attempts at energizing the Republican base fell short. Democrats at the Onondaga County Legislature made history after gaining their first ever supermajority. After winning 10 seats last November— Democrats flipped the legislature from red to blue for the first time in 50 years— they flipped three more on Tuesday.

“The numbers demonstrate that that was not helpful in any way,” Bick, the Republican Clay deputy supervisor, told a Central Current reporter after polls closed on Tuesday. 

Laura Robertson contributed reporting to this story.

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Debadrita Sur is a multimedia journalist and Report for America corps member who reports on the I-81 project and public housing for Central Current. In 2023, Sur graduated with a master’s degree in journalism...