The State of New York is becoming the lead horse for the Democratic Party. Although the party suffers from internal strife at the state level, it is providing the candidates and policy that have the most influence in the progressive movement. New York State has come to the forefront of the national conversation this past fall with news magnets like Hurricane Sandy, post-Newtown gun control, Benghazi, and the Empire State’s various players for the presidency.

Those players, Independant Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Senator Chuck Schumer are among the most powerful progressives on earth, only behind the likes of Reid, Polosi, Biden and Obama. But the latter are on the way out, and the New Yorkers are on the rise.

Secretary Clinton and Governor Cuomo, currently one and two respectively for 2016, have both boasted approval ratings in the high sixties over the past year. Senator Schumer was the master of ceremonies at the inauguration and is the most likely to replace Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader. Cuomo and Bloomberg have been the loudest and most effective advocates of gun control, both rhetorically and legislatively.

New York’s decisive actions on gun control and gay marriage were harbingers that many liberals didn’t see coming. The passage of this legislation under Andrew Cuomo, in his first term no less, has demonstrated that there can be a symbiotic relationship with voters and legislators who demand change and create it. Barring any kind of scandal, these New York lefties are here to stay and will be dominating the national conversation for the next decade.