Democrat-held CD18 in the Hudson Valley is flippable, insists the Indian American, who is using his extensive business and government experience to build a campaign to win the 2026 election. Sharanjit Singh Thind filed his candidacy in September 2025 for the US House of Representatives from New York’s District 18 in the Hudson Valley. A lifelong Republican and Sikh born in Punjab, India, he believes this Democrat-held seat is ready to flip. His campaign focuses on promoting business, making jobs AI-proof, defending family values, and prioritizing community safety. With extensive experience in both the private and public sectors, he sees himself as the best candidate to represent this district north of Manhattan. In a wide-ranging conversation over coffee, Thind told me that he believes he has the blessing of the party’s establishment. Before filing his nomination papers in September, he met with New York Republican State Committee Chairman Ed Cox—son-in-law of President Nixon—to discuss the party’s support. At the time, Thind was told that there were no other Republican candidates in the fray and that the 18th Congressional District (CD-18) would be a strong place for him to run. “But, even with the best intentions and backing of the party leadership, primaries are unavoidable and even healthy,” said Thind. Thind describes himself as fully familiar with CD-18 and notes that he is in close contact with local party leadership, thanks to Chairman Cox. “I am getting a very enthusiastic response when I interact with constituents of all stripes and backgrounds,” he added. While agreeing that the incumbent, Patrick Ryan, defeated Alison Esposito (R) by 14 points in 2024, Thind points to a changed environment that would help him emerge victorious on November 3, the election day in 2026. “People were fed up seeing hotels and motels teeming with illegal migrants housed in the Hudson Valley under President Biden and Mayor Adams. Under Presdient Trump, that threat to law and order has been cleared.” The recent election of self-declared socialist and freebies-promising Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City is worrying all, Thind claims. In sharp contrast are Trump’s America First, pro-business policies, which he supports as do most upstate New York voters. In the context, Thind talks passionately about what has made America the world’s largest economy and a magnet for the world’s best. The answer is: by putting business first. To do that, you have to know about business, which he does, having run media and real estate businesses. Appealing Policy Platform The policy platform Thind is building is solely to serve his constituents he says. “The biggest challenge in the coming months and years,” Thind projects, “is that many, many jobs will evaporate under the AI heat. I am not against AI or automation, but I will make the AI behemoth companies accountable, to make them funnel back some of their profits to retrain the retrenched workers.” Similarly, banks should be held accountable for the financial scams happening under their nose that upend so many seniors’ lives. Promoting tourism in the picturesque Hudson Valley is a no-brainer. “I will give tourism full attention to attract high-paying visitors and create jobs,” says Thind while pointing to a recent Netflix series, ‘Four Seasons’, which was shot there and stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey. With his business acumen and the region’s appeal, he is confident that more entertainment projects will follow. Thind can boast a rich resume that highlights his multifarious career. Armed with an MBA and a journalism degree, Thind arrived in America at the cusp of this century. Over the years, he worked for many reputed companies, founded his own ad agency in Manhattan, and has been Editor-Publisher of ‘The South Asian Insider’ for almost two decades. Recently, he became an author with “The Beginning – Mad Men of Nu Way Advertising,” highlighting his experience at the helm of the once-thriving ad agency on Madison Avenue. Experience in Government and Politics From 2012, he has worked with the government in one capacity or another. He served as a Commissioner on the Nassau County Human Rights Commission until 2018. He also worked with the Receiver of Taxes office in the Town of Hempstead, the largest township in America. In electoral politics, Thind has gained valuable experience helping others run for office. “From local councilman, mayoral to state senate and assembly to DA to Congress races, I have been very closely involved, spending long hours strategizing policy. I have helped raise and also personally contributed to the campaigns of quite a few races,” he says. Twice, he has received the Congressional Excellence award. Running for Congress, Thind insists, he also draws on the perspective he gained as an editor on how government is run and what needs to be done to fix what is broken. To kick-start his campaign, Thind will put his own money into it and seek support from small donors (the maximum individual contribution is $3,535). He clarifies that no government matching funds are available for Congressional races. Because CD18 is flippable and can help the GOP retain control of the House after 2026, Thind expects “America-loving, like-minded” individuals to help lift his campaign to victory. Thind owns a property in the Catskills and is in the process of signing a lease for a house in Saugerties, in Ulster County. He lives with his wife and two sons on Long Island. Thind’s appeal is straightforward: Elect a representative who will bring more jobs and protect those jobs from AI; bring more tourism to the Hudson Valley; expand healthcare benefits; protect family values; and pass laws to save senior citizens from scams.
https://newsindiatimes.com/republican-sharanjit-singh-thind-announces-run-for-congress-from-nys-district-18/
Category Archives: elections
Mapping a Democratic sweep across Virginia, New Jersey and New York – News India Times
Voters shifted sharply to the left across Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City in elections held Tuesday, November 4, 2025, sweeping Democrats into office. These candidates focused on affordability and capitalized on growing frustration with President Donald Trump.
More than 2 million New York City voters—the highest turnout since 1969—turned out to elect a democratic socialist as mayor, rejecting a former governor who was once a standard-bearer for the Democratic Party.
Four years ago, Republicans enjoyed a wave of support that gave them the governorship in Virginia and made the New Jersey race much closer than Democrats had expected. Meanwhile, a moderate Democrat replaced a more liberal one in New York City Hall. This time, however, the political energy in all three places shifted distinctly toward Democrats and the left wing of the party.
### Virginia: A Leftward Shift Across the State
In every county and independent city in Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger outperformed Terry McAuliffe—the Democrat who lost to Republican Glenn Youngkin in the 2021 gubernatorial race. According to a Washington Post analysis, Spanberger exceeded McAuliffe’s vote share by a median of 13 percentage points across these areas.
She also outperformed Kamala Harris, last year’s Democratic presidential nominee, in more than 95 percent of Virginia’s counties and independent cities, topping her vote share by a median of three percentage points.
Spanberger flipped six counties or independent cities that Trump had won in 2024, including three that had shifted from President Joe Biden to Trump—Prince Edward, Surry, and Lynchburg.
Her gains were comprehensive, spanning rural, suburban, and urban areas. Spanberger won both Democratic strongholds and swing areas, while also chipping into traditionally Republican counties. Notably, she secured large margins in the Washington D.C., Richmond, and Virginia Beach metropolitan areas. Whereas McAuliffe won those regions by 251,000 votes in 2021, Spanberger was leading them by about 700,000 votes based on incomplete tallies available as of Wednesday morning.
She also flipped 15 counties that McAuliffe had lost, most located in metropolitan areas such as Virginia Beach, Stafford, and Spotsylvania—counties that Youngkin won by large margins in 2021. In other areas, she lost by smaller margins than McAuliffe, outperforming him by nearly 20 points in Republican-dominated Southwest Virginia, including Bristol and Montgomery.
Spanberger dominated Loudoun County, winning it by 29 percentage points compared to McAuliffe’s 11-point win there four years ago, and Harris’s 16-point margin last year.
Similarly, Jay Jones, who won the attorney general’s race but lagged behind Spanberger, outperformed Harris’s margin in Loudoun County, winning by 19 points despite bipartisan condemnations related to violent texts he authored years ago.
### New Jersey: Solid Democratic Support
In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill won by a much wider margin than Governor Phil Murphy (D), who narrowly secured a second term four years ago. Both faced Republican Jack Ciattarelli, but Sherrill secured a more comfortable victory by earning significant support across the state.
Sherrill outpaced both Murphy and Harris in every county. Her strongest performances compared to Harris came in counties that had shifted most toward Trump in 2024, including Passaic and Hudson counties, where Latinos make up over 40 percent of the population.
Trump had made notable gains in these counties last year and flipped Passaic. However, Sherrill won both counties, outperforming Harris by 11 points in Hudson and by nine points in Passaic. She also won four other counties that Trump carried the previous year.
### New York City: A Democratic Socialist Victory
In New York City, 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and member of the State Assembly, defeated former governor Andrew M. Cuomo by a larger margin on Tuesday than he did in the Democratic primary five months ago.
Mamdani expanded his earlier coalition of younger, college-educated, and liberal voters in Manhattan and nearby gentrifying neighborhoods. He performed particularly well in precincts with fewer voters over age 60, where turnout was higher in this election compared to 2021.
He carried four of the city’s five boroughs in early, unofficial results, with Cuomo carrying only Staten Island, the city’s most conservative borough—one that Trump had won in each of his elections.
Cuomo attempted to rebuild the coalition formed by Mayor Eric Adams four years ago, which primarily included non-White and conservative-leaning voters in the outer boroughs. Cuomo gained additional support after Adams withdrew from the race and Trump endorsed him at the last minute, encouraging Republicans to abandon their nominee, Curtis Sliwa.
Despite this, the strategy failed. Cuomo lost by a wider margin than Sliwa’s total vote share.
In the Bronx, Mamdani made his strongest gains relative to Cuomo in the general election. Cuomo’s supporters had sought to weaken Mamdani’s momentum by highlighting his criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Mamdani, who aims to become New York City’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest in a century, managed to draw widespread support across the city and made significant inroads in areas where Trump had gained ground last year.
He increased his support among Black and Hispanic voters, gaining 35 percentage points in areas with a Black plurality and 11 points in Hispanic neighborhoods compared with the primary.
### Looking Ahead
Democrats interpret these off-year election victories as a clear sign that voters are unhappy with President Trump and are ready to deliver them the House majority in next year’s midterm elections. Currently, Republicans hold a narrow 219-213 majority in the House, and several races could be pivotal in determining the chamber’s control.
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*Graphics courtesy of The Washington Post*
[https://washingtonpost.com/](https://washingtonpost.com/)
https://newsindiatimes.com/mapping-a-democratic-sweep-across-virginia-new-jersey-and-new-york/
‘Under siege’: Inside Trump’s comprehensive plan to steal 2026 midterms
Both times he was inaugurated—January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2025—President Donald Trump entered the White House with Republican majorities in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. However, Democratic strategists are hopeful that the 2026 midterms will play out similarly to the 2018 midterms, which saw Democrats flipping the House with a net gain of 40 seats.
Some Democrats have argued that the 2018 “blue wave” in Congress’ lower chamber could have been even larger if House districts had not been so heavily gerrymandered. It remains to be seen what will happen in 2026, but Trump is clearly hoping that next year’s midterms won’t be a repeat of 2018.
In an op-ed published by MSNBC on October 23, Symone D. Sanders Townsend—who co-hosts MSNBC’s *The Weeknight* with Alicia Menendez—alongside former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele, argues that although Trump faces some major disadvantages going into the 2026 midterms, he has devised a comprehensive game plan to try to steal the election.
Townsend warns, “As part of a broad, multi-state effort by allies of President Donald Trump, Republicans in North Carolina have taken the dramatic step to try to redraw their already gerrymandered congressional districts five years before the normal end-of-decade cycle. The goal is to secure one more Republican U.S. House seat in a desperate attempt to hang onto the House majority and protect Trump from political consequences. Keep in mind, this map was already unfairly drawn up.”
She continues, “The Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave it an ‘F,’ with only one competitive district, ten safe Republican seats, and three safe Democratic seats. The new map would be even worse.”
This pattern is happening across the country. From Texas—where lawmakers passed a new map reportedly at Trump’s behest—to Missouri, where organizers are attempting to put an initiative on the ballot to overturn a recent gerrymander, to Indiana, where party leaders recently admitted they may not have the votes to push through a new map.
Townsend emphasizes that Republicans “wouldn’t be trying this if they were confident they could win in 2026. But rather than trying to persuade the American people that they have better ideas, they are trying to rig it so that they can win anyway.”
She warns that the representative ideal is under siege—but not defeated. “The people still hold the power. They always have. And the fight now is to make sure they can still exercise it freely.”
As Republicans attempt to redraw the lines of power, Townsend urges us to “listen for the echoes of our ancestors. Times have changed, but the struggle has not.”
https://www.rawstory.com/under-siege-inside-trumps-comprehensive-plan-to-steal-2026-midterms/
佐賀市長に坂井氏再選 8年ぶり無投票
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title: 佐賀市長に坂井氏再選 8年ぶり無投票
date: 2025-10-12 17:23
categories: 政治
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任期満了に伴う佐賀市長選が12日に告示され、無所属現職の坂井英隆氏（45）＝自民、立民、公明推薦＝以外に立候補の届け出がなく、無投票で再選が決まった。
佐賀市長選の無投票は2017年以来、8年ぶりとなる。
坂井氏の再選により、今後の市政が注目される。
※この記事は有料会員限定です。
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https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/1410503/
田久保氏、伊東市長選の出馬示唆 不信任再可決で失職時
田久保氏、伊東市長選の出馬示唆 不信任再可決で失職時
2025/10/12 19:05 （2025/10/12 19:08 更新）
学歴詐称疑惑を抱える静岡県伊東市の田久保真紀市長は12日、市議会で再び不信任決議案が可決され失職した場合に行われる出直し選への出馬を示唆した。
同日告示の市議選で、新人候補の応援演説に駆け付けた際、「私…」と述べたという。
なお、この記事は有料会員限定となっております。残りの内容は、有料会員登録後にご覧いただけます。
川崎市長選に現新6氏 市政運営の評価争点
2025年10月12日 12:11（更新：2025年10月12日 12:13）
※本記事は有料会員限定です。
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任期満了に伴う川崎市長選が10月12日に告示されました。
立候補したのは、
– 新人の政治団体役員 野末明美氏（60歳、共産党推薦）
– 4選を目指す現職の福田紀彦氏（53歳）
– 新人で元市議の山田瑛理氏（42歳）
– その他、新人3名の計6名です。
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【クリップ機能について】
クリップ機能は有料会員の方のみご利用いただけます。
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▼西日本新聞meとは？
（サービス紹介などはこちらにリンクを設定してください）
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この記事の残りの内容は、有料会員限定です。
7日間無料トライアルもご利用いただけます。
1日わずか37円で読み放題、年払いならさらにお得です。
https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/1410448/
静岡・伊東市議選が告示 市長不信任意向の候補多数
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title: 静岡・伊東市議選が告示 市長不信任意向の候補多数
date: 2025-10-12 11:20
category: 社会
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静岡県伊東市の田久保真紀市長が自身の学歴を巡る問題で議会を解散したことに伴う市議選（定数20）が、10月12日に告示された。
今回の選挙には、前職や新人など合わせて30人が立候補を届け出ている。
10月31日に招集が決まった臨時議会では、再び田久保市長に対する不信任決議案が提出される見込みだ。
（この記事は有料会員限定です）
https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/1410440/
佐賀市長選告示、現職坂井氏が届け出【立候補者名簿】
佐賀市長選告示、現職坂井氏が立候補を届け出【立候補者名簿】
2025年10月12日 11:07 更新
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佐賀県佐賀市で開催される市長選が10月12日に告示されました。午前11時現在、再選を目指す無所属の現職、市長の坂井英隆氏（45歳）が立候補を届け出ています。坂井氏は自民党、立憲民主党、公明党の推薦を受けています。
立候補の届け出締め切りは午後5時までとなっており、投開票は19日に行われます。なお、無投票となるのは8年ぶりのことです。
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■ 佐賀市長選立候補者（届け出順）
（候補者名簿は別途掲載予定）
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（取材・文：竹中謙輔）
https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/1410435/
Kharge Confident of Resolving Seat-Sharing Issue for Bihar Assembly Polls
**Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Confident of Resolving Seat Sharing Issue Ahead of Bihar Assembly Polls**
Bengaluru: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday expressed confidence in resolving the seat sharing issue with alliance partners for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls. He informed that a meeting of party leaders is scheduled for later in the day, which he will attend virtually.
The much-awaited Bihar Assembly elections, where the opposition bloc led by the RJD and the Congress aims to unseat the ruling NDA, will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The votes will be counted on November 14.
“We are going to solve this. Today there is a meeting at 2:30 pm. I’m also attending the meeting virtually. We are sorting it out,” Kharge told reporters in response to questions about the deadlock over seat sharing.
When asked about the number of seats the Congress will contest, he said, “We are not going to reveal how many seats we have decided now itself. In today’s meeting, we will discuss those where we have to compromise and on which there are no differences. After 2:30 pm, it will be known how many will be decided today and how many tomorrow.”
This marked Kharge’s first interaction with the media since his discharge from the hospital, where he underwent a procedure to have a pacemaker implanted last week.
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/kharge-confident-of-resolving-seat-sharing-issue-for-bihar-assembly-polls-1908710
Gyanesh Kumar-led ECI team visits Patna, poll dates expected soon
**Gyanesh Kumar-led ECI Team Visits Patna; Bihar Poll Dates Expected Soon**
*By Snehil Singh | October 4, 2025, 1:06 PM*
A delegation from the Election Commission of India (ECI), headed by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, is currently in Patna to review preparations for the upcoming Bihar Legislative Assembly elections. The team also includes Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
As part of their visit, an all-party meeting with representatives from the 12 recognized political parties is underway at the Taj Hotel, chaired by CEC Kumar. This meeting serves as a platform to discuss the election process and ensure smooth conduct of the polls.
### Election Preparations Underway
The ECI traditionally visits the state just days before announcing the election schedule. With the Bihar Assembly’s term concluding on November 22, the elections must be held before that date. Ahead of the team’s visit, the ECI briefed General, Police, and Expenditure Observers who will act as Central Observers for these elections, as well as some upcoming by-elections.
### Observer Briefing and Their Role
A total of 425 officers, including IAS, IPS, and IRS personnel, participated in a detailed briefing held at IIIDEM in New Delhi. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar described these observers as “the beacons of democracy,” underlining their critical role in ensuring free and fair elections.
He urged the observers to thoroughly familiarize themselves with all election laws and remain accessible to political parties, candidates, and voters for grievance redressal throughout the electoral process.
### Constitutional Mandate for Central Observers
The ECI appoints Central Observers under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. These observers are vital in maintaining transparency and effective management of elections on the ground.
### Poll Dates Expected Shortly
Although the official dates for Bihar’s Assembly elections have not yet been announced, sources suggest the ECI is likely to declare them on October 6 or 7. With the preparatory groundwork in place, Bihar is gearing up for a crucial electoral exercise in the coming weeks.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/politics/gyanesh-kumar-led-ec-team-visits-patna-poll-dates-expected-soon/story