The June 23 Democratic primary here could be a temperature test on the state of America and may well be the first electoral referendum to decide the political climate for / against sympathizers siding with attorney Benjamin Crump, — the family lawyer for George Lloyd who immediately following a graphic display of police misconduct in Minneapolis, Minnesota demanded justice in America — or those advocating/dissenting four more years for President Donald Trump who responded to protesters in Washington D.C. by gassing a gathering of Americans in order to stage a photo message in front of a church holding a Bible.
Although neither the names Crump nor Trump will appear on the ballot on that date, the fact both have dominated news cycles throughout the month, New Yorkers will take the opportunity to offer a prognosis on the Nov. 3 general election.
At stake, 224 pledged delegates in 27 congressional districts.
In each district seven delegates to the national convention will be decided as well as congressional representatives, state senators, state committee members, civil court judges, and 11 from the long list of ambitious Democrats who aspired to unseat the Republican leader.
Although 10 from the party already suspended their campaigns yielding to endorsements for former vice president Joe Biden, absentee ballots list the rivals for purposes related to acquiring delegates.
Biden has already secured 1993 pledged delegates, enough to win the nomination as the presidential choice of the Democratic Party.
On primary day Trump will be tested.
He will be examined for his response to the coronavirus pandemic, which dubbed NYC the epicenter of COVID-19 which accounted for more lives lost than any other American city.
With a still-growing national casualty list of 117,858 accounted deaths, New York took the lion share reporting just under 30,000 lives lost from the infectious respiratory virus.
As a matter of fact, were it not for relentless pleas from Gov. Andrew Cuomo urging a federal response for military support, personal protective equipment for essential workers, and emergency funding to erect temporary hospitals to provide added ICU beds and equipment perhaps a worse-case scenario might now exist.
More than 20 states are now experiencing spikes in infection and deaths as numbers in New York continue to decrease with limited phase one progression easing full quarantine condition.
Trump will also be judged by the erratic NY Stock Exchange’s fluctuating activity.
Earlier in the year Trump boasted a booming economic policy that he banked on would secure reelection, however, since the pandemic statistics reveal 43 million Americans reportedly are unemployed and a $25 trillion debt threatens the possibility of a second term.
In the fourth year of his first term Trump faces a tough challenge with Republican legislators slowly distancing themselves after military generals openly criticized their commander in chief for behaving contrary to tenets of the constitution.
Not only will Republicans, Democrats, Independents and third party Americans vote on primary day but already a global constituency decided to favor Crump over Trump.
Crump’s credentials weigh heavily against Trump’s inability to unify Americans. That he disregarded the Minneapolis coroner’s autopsy findings to recommend an independent examination of the cause of death proved an international eye-opener when that autopsy revealed the obvious — that Floyd’s death was attributed to asphyxia from excessive and extensive pressure, not poor health.
The lawyer’s credibility soared when he openly condemned the “doctored” findings.
Along with rebuke of the corrupt justice system; its complacent response to police brutality, and relentless pleas for police reforms Crump’s reputation spiraled as Trump’s approval rating plummeted.
The fact Crump has consistently advocated for disfranchised minorities in the south — representing the family of Trayvon Martin who was shot and killed in Miami Gardens, Florida; loved ones aggrieved by the murder of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky martyr Breonna Taylor and now the Floyd family from Houston, Texas — the lawyer’s dedication demonstrates his purposeful effort to making America better.
The Trump / Crump contest seen on television and virally spread via social media across Sweden, New Zealand, Poland, Norway, France, Japan, Australia, South Korea, England, Jamaica, Scotland, the 55 countries throughout the African continent upstaged the pandemic crisis changing the conversation and blurring the message to Make America Great Again.
In Crump’s favor, the chants from global citizens of “Justice for George” continue to resound through plazas, streets and boulevards throughout the world.
And in Brooklyn, new dissenters to Trump rhetoric display scores of cyclists who pedal nightly in protest through neighborhoods in Williamsburg, Crown Heights, Flatbush, Fort Green, Park Slope, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Greenpoint, Sunset Park and other communities.
Artists, poets, musicians and dancers congregate at the Barclay Center.
And from Times Square, Foley Square, Herald Square and Union Square in Manhattan New York’s diverse population cast their preference for future guidance.
Anti-Trump surfers have emerged from the ocean riding the waves in Hawaii.
In California, Black cowboys mount horses to demonstrate western solidarity for the Civil Rights cause.
Here, children in Manhattan demonstrate early youth vote marching regularly to amplify a Crump over Trump endorsement.
Early voting began on June 13.
The board of elections already mailed absentee ballots which should be returned by election day June 23.
Catch You On The Inside!
