Source: Politics<\/p>\n
DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 43<\/span><\/p>\n PRIMARY COLORS: Republican Assemblymember Robert Smullen sat down with Rep. Elise Stefanik five years ago to talk about a rural development bill, but instead he made a bold claim: He intended to challenge her in a GOP primary.<\/p>\n The previously unreported meeting, according to two people with direct knowledge of the private conversation who were granted anonymity to discuss it, occurred in July 2021.<\/p>\n Smullen never followed through with a Stefanik primary challenge. And in a statement, he denied ever planning to challenge her for the nomination.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never planned to primary Elise Stefanik,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cI have too much respect for her, her leadership, and the job she has done fighting for NY-21 and Upstate New York.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the people, the sitdown occurred as Republican House members in deep blue New York were bracing for what was expected to be a challenging round of redistricting. Smullen\u2019s primary threat against Stefanik was based, in part, on the potential of her home being drawn out of the sprawling North Country seat she\u2019s represented since 2015.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have the audacity to do that \u2014 to not read the room, but also not read the polling,\u201d one of the people said. \u201cBy the end of the meeting he was set straight.\u201d<\/p>\n It also came months after Stefanik replaced<\/a> then-Rep. Liz Cheney as the Republican House conference chair following the Wyoming Republican\u2019s emergence as an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump. Stefanik had previously emerged as a prominent Trump ally in Congress.<\/p>\n Yet Smullen over the years has donated frequently to Stefanik\u2019s campaigns \u2014 including thousands of dollars between 2020 and 2024.<\/p>\n She also frequently appeared alongside Smullen at events, like at an October 2022 fundraiser for his Assembly reelection campaign as well as a rally a month later.<\/p>\n \u201cI have known Elise personally for years, supported and donated to her campaigns, and appreciated her support for me during my own races,\u201d Smullen said. \u201cLike many elected officials and political allies do over the years, we had conversations about the future and the importance of continuing strong Republican representation for this district someday. That is very different from this narrative POLITICO is trying to create.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cWhat is especially disappointing is that my opponent and his operatives are trying to drag Elise into a primary she has made clear she is staying out of so voters can make their own decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Smullen also told Playbook that Stefanik comforted his family when his son<\/a> was hospitalized and later died after he was struck by a car.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the hardest time in my family\u2019s life, Elise was there for us while my son AJ was in the hospital and after we lost him. Those are not the actions of people involved in some fabricated political feud,\u201d Smullen said. \u201cI am focused on earning the support of voters across NY-21 and fighting for the conservative values that unite Republicans across Upstate New York.”<\/p>\n The state lawmaker is now running for the House seat Stefanik is vacating this year, competing for the nomination against Republican Anthony Constantino, the Trump-endorsed candidate<\/a> in the June 23 primary.<\/p>\n Stefanik has not endorsed in the primary to succeed her. But her support is highly coveted by both Republican candidates.<\/p>\n She\u2019s represented the House district for the last decade, building up a base of ardent supporters and aligning herself closely with the president\u2019s MAGA movement.<\/p>\n Stefanik bowed out of running for reelection after scuttling a short-lived bid for governor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Her decision not to run for another term has ignited a heated Republican primary to succeed her in a ruby red House seat that Trump has handily won three times.<\/p>\n Constantino, the CEO of the merchandise and printing company Sticker Mule, has marshaled the backing of Trump-allied luminaries like political operative Roger Stone, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and retired Gen. Michael Flynn.<\/p>\n His candidacy has split<\/a> Empire State Republicans, however.<\/p>\n The New York Republican Committee in April formally endorsed Smullen \u2014 a rare nod by the party\u2019s statewide leadership in a GOP primary. \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n HOCHUL FILMS VIDEO FOR LASHER: Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Jerry Nadler, Assemblymember Micah Lasher and political strategist Morris Katz all walked into a bagel shop.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the start of a joke, it\u2019s what happened Tuesday at Tal Bagels on 90th and Broadway.<\/p>\n The three elected officials were spotted with the wunderkind political strategist<\/a> filming a video together for Lasher\u2019s run for Congress, according to two Playbook spies and a third person who confirmed the events. State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Council Member Gale Brewer were also there.<\/p>\n Lasher is running for the Manhattan seat held by Nadler, his former boss, and was already endorsed by Hochul, also his former boss, last month.<\/p>\n But the soon-to-be released video will mark a unique level of involvement for Hochul in the race.<\/p>\n In the 2024 Democratic primaries, Hochul held a strict no-primary-endorsements policy<\/a>, even though she privately fundraised for some candidates. Now, she\u2019s filming Katzian videos over lox & schmear for Lasher in a competitive primary, where he\u2019s up against Assemblymember Alex Bores, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and anti-Trump commentator George Conway.<\/p>\n The meeting also shows a sort of d\u00e9tente in the political consulting world. In the bruising battle in neighboring NY-10, Katz\u2019s Fight Agency is backing former city comptroller Brad Lander\u2019s primary challenge of Rep. Dan Goldman, whose campaign is powered by consultants Haley Scott and Mark Guma.<\/p>\n Guma and Scott both work on Lasher\u2019s campaign, which now can officially count Katz as a partner.<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, Katz, a key strategist on Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s campaign, has already been boosting Lasher. In February, POLITICO reported<\/a> Katz was making calls to progressives to line up support for Lasher, identifying himself as \u201cMorris Katz with the mayor\u201d on the phone.<\/p>\n In a statement, Lasher spokesperson Caroline Crowell celebrated how the great bagel confab represented a unity between the rival consultants.<\/p>\n \u201cTeam Lasher is thrilled to welcome Fight Agency to our team that includes powerhouses Mark Guma and Haley Scott,\u201d Crowell said. \u201cWe can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been cooking up. Stay tuned!\u201d \u2014 Jason Beeferman and Irie Sentner<\/p>\n RELATED: It\u2019s unclear if Mamdani is going to wade into the primary for Nadler\u2019s seat \u2014 and there haven\u2019t been any significant signs that he will. But in an interview with the New York Editorial Board<\/a>, Bores said he would \u201clove\u201d to have the mayor\u2019s endorsement.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t talked to him about an endorsement,\u201d Bores said, adding that he would \u201cwelcome his endorsement, just like I welcome the endorsement of any voter in the district.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a little lukewarm,\u201d journalist Ben Smith replied.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven the opportunity to ask and, yes, I would love to have his endorsement, but I don\u2019t expect that he will get involved in this race,\u201d Bores, who often likes to mention that he and Mamdani were basketball buddies<\/a> in Albany, continued.<\/p>\n Bores has raked in some eye-catching progressive endorsements<\/a>, including from Our Revolution, the group founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).<\/p>\n At a recent forum at a synagogue, both Bores and Lasher were asked<\/a> if they regretted endorsing Mamdani in the general election; neither said no, but both qualified their support for the mayor, who has drawn the ire<\/a> of some Jewish voters. NY-12 has a prominent Jewish constituency. \u2014 Madison Fernandez<\/p>\n CLOCK\u2019S TICKING: The state Capitol is starting to take on some post-budget vibes \u2014 despite the fact that budget talks haven\u2019t yet concluded.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is later than usual,\u201d Assemblymember David Weprin said of this year\u2019s spending plan. \u201cIt took a long time till we were going to start doing regular bills because we thought we were going to have a budget relatively on time. Once that became a reality, we started taking up more regular bills.”<\/p>\n The advocacy focus in the halls near the Legislature\u2019s chambers has increasingly moved away from last-minute budget pleas to stand-alone bills. Weprin joined former Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist today to push for more insurance coverage for stuttering. Other groups pushed for bans on data centers, a herbicide prohibition and new regulations on gun safes.<\/p>\n Both houses of the Legislature, meanwhile, are increasingly spending their days plowing through dense agendas.<\/p>\n \u201cWould I have wanted to be at this point in session?\u201d Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said while announcing a consumer protection package Tuesday. \u201cNo, I would hope as always that we were able to get an on-time budget and that we were able to accomplish what we needed to accomplish sooner than now. But that has not stopped us from paying attention to the things we care about.\u201d<\/p>\n But time is still clearly running out \u2014 even if the budget is wrapped up next week, there will only be eight remaining session days. \u201cWe\u2019re just going to run out of time,\u201d Assemblymember Anna Kelles said.<\/p>\n And while legislative leaders have been adamant that June 4 will remain the last day, that pinch is stirring talks of overtime.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we will have some special session after our session ends before the end of the year to do some bills we haven\u2019t done,\u201d Weprin predicted. \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n BELTWAY VITRIOL: Rep. Mike Lawler called antisemitic insults hurled at him by William Paul, the son of Sen. Rand Paul, \u201creprehensible\u201d and \u201cfucking disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n NOTUS reported on Wednesday<\/a> that last night, the younger Paul \u201cconfronted Lawler about Rep. Thomas Massie\u2019s GOP primary election in Kentucky next week\u201d and said that if he loses, it\u2019s going to be because of \u201cyour people\u201d \u2014 which he followed by saying \u201cyou Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters in Washington<\/a>, Lawler said Paul \u201cwent on a roughly 10 minute diatribe about Israel and about Jews, about Paul Singer and accusing Jews of being responsible for so many things, playing right into the typical antisemitic tropes that so many people rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawler is not Jewish. His district, just north of New York City, has a large Jewish population.<\/p>\n \u201cIt speaks to a larger issue, obviously, in society and what we’re seeing among young people and what we see online,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the level of hatred and vitriol, frankly, that some of my Jewish colleagues experience, but many of my constituents experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul responded to the incident in an X post<\/a>, writing that he \u201chad too much to drink and said some things that don\u2019t represent who I really am. I\u2019m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem.\u201d \u2014 Madison Fernandez<\/p>\n \u2014 WALDEN IN THE WATERS: A coalition of wealthy donors has raised over $1 million to oppose Mamdani\u2019s agenda. (The New York Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014COURTSIDE CONGESTION: The Knicks\u2019 playoff run could collide with World Cup transit restrictions, creating a major commuting problem for Penn Station. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014MAYOR TAKES AIM: Mamdani is urging state regulators to block Western Union\u2019s $500 million merger with Intermex, warning it could raise costs for immigrant New Yorkers. (Semafor<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\nFROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL<\/h3>\n
From the Capitol<\/h3>\n
FROM THE DELEGATION<\/h3>\n
IN OTHER NEWS<\/h3>\n