LOVETT: Potential leftist surge in New York could be tough for polls to pick up

If fired-up young and minority progressives are set to affect the state Democratic primaries, the polls could be the last to show it. But in New York, where the electorate is charged up in the President Trump era and 400,000 new Democrats have registered since 2014, it could make the job even tougher, forcing both public and private pollsters to engage in new models in hopes of getting it right.

Working Families Party hires petition carriers for Nixon

Cynthia Nixon spoke last at The Working Family Party State Convention, held Saturday at The First Corinthian Baptist Church, Harlem, NY. The following is an expanded version of the second item from my "Albany Insider" column from Monday's print editions: The Working Families Party has hired people to help circulate designation petitions to get actress and activist Cynthia Nixon on the Sept.

Governors pull National Guard over immigration policy

ANNAPOLIS, Md.>> The governors of multiple East Coast states have announced that they will not deploy National Guard resources near the U.S.-Mexico border, a largely symbolic but politically significant rejection of the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy that has resulted in children being separated from their families. Gov. John Carney rejected the White House's request to send National Guard troops to the United States' southwest border.

Border Patrol ripped girl with Down’s syndrome away from her…

An undocumented immigrant family from Guatemala talks to a volunteer after their arrival to Announciation House, an organisation that provides shelter to immigrants and refugees, in El Paso, U.S. January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo /File Photo Joining a chorus of critics as diverse as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and former First Ladies Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray denounced President Donald Trump's immigration policy, which has resulted in 2,000 kids being forcibly separated from their families - including a little girl with Down's syndrome whose father is a legal U.S. resident.

Ex-Cuomo ally and Syracuse mayor Stephanie Miner enters

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, center, speaks during a press conference where Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, left, and Zephyr Teachout, right, pitched an ethics reform blueprint plan on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. less Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, center, speaks during a press conference where Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, left, and Zephyr Teachout, right, pitched an ethics reform blueprint ... more Stephanie Miner, the former Syracuse mayor and one-time ally of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, announced that she's mounting an independent bid for governor. "The price of politics as usual and the cost of corruption is weighing us all down.

Cynthia Nixon Proposes ICE Ban And Free College For Illegal Immigrants

New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon unveiled Wednesday an ambitious and expensive education plan packed with spending on programs long desired by progressives, including free college tuition for illegal immigrants. The platform , which bears the pithy hashtag slogan #SchoolsNotJails, calls for spending $7.37 billion on a wide range of K-12 and higher education initiatives.

Cuomo pushes gun safety measure stalled in the legislature

Governor Cuomo kicked off a statewide campaign to pass the Red Flag Gun Protection Bill, also known as the Extreme Risk Protection Order Bill. Photo: Office of Gov. Cuomo Governor Cuomo has begun a statewide tour to promote a bill to give teachers and school administrators the power to go to court and ask a judge to confiscate the guns of a student and their family, if they suspect the student might try to harm themselves or others.

Puerto Rican Day Parade show post-hurricane pride

The National Puerto Rican Parade in New York turned into its usual boisterous celebration Sunday, but many participants also saw it as an occasion to express their more somber concerns over the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. Along the parade route in the heart of Manhattan, people carried signs with tributes like "New York Stands with Puerto Rico," ''You will not be forgotten" and "Decolonize Puerto Rico."

Pizza delivery man facing deportation draws stay, support of leaders

Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined the chorus of New York officials calling for the release of an Ecuadorian native detained while delivering pizza at a Brooklyn Army base after his impending deportation was halted, at least for now, by a federal judge. In this undated family photo provided by Sandra Chica, Pablo Villavicencio poses with his two daughters, Luciana, left, and Antonia.

Puerto Rican Day Parade displays post-hurricane pride

The National Puerto Rican Parade in New York turned into its usual boisterous celebration Sunday, but many participants also saw it as an occasion to express their more somber concerns over the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. Along the parade route in the heart of Manhattan, people carried signs with tributes like "New York Stands with Puerto Rico," ''You will not be forgotten" and "Decolonize Puerto Rico."

Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney running for N.Y. attorney general Source: Cox Media Group

He's looking to fill a seat left vacant by Eric Schneiderman, who abruptly resigned last month after he was accused of abusing women he dated. Maloney, who was first elected in 2012, said he sees the race for the open attorney general seat as an opportunity he could not pass up - despite a crowded Democratic field of three women running for the party's nomination.

In key governor’s races, Democrats split on education

Education is a subterranean divide between Democrats r... . FILE- In this April 9, 2015, file photo, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., listens during a closed door meeting with representatives of the marijuana industry in Denver.

In key governor’s races, Democrats split on education Source: AP

A subterranean divide among Democrats between backers of teachers unions and those of charter schools and other education innovations is helping shape key gubernatorial primaries, even as red-meat issues like guns, inequality and President Donald Trump have dominated the races. In California, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's campaign has been kept afloat partly by more than $20 million spent by a political committee funded by supporters of charter schools and other educational initiatives.