Elections in New York State |
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The 2012 New York state elections took place on November 6, 2012. These elections included the 2012 presidential election, an election to one U.S. Senate seat, and elections to all 27 New York congressional seats, all 63 seats in the New York State Senate, and all 150 seats in the New York State Assembly.
Incumbent Democratic president Barack Obama defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney in New York and was re-elected. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was re-elected as well. In New York's elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats won 21 seats and Republicans won six. The Republican Party lost its majority in the New York State Senate, as Democratic candidates won 33 of 63 seats; following the elections, however, Senate Republicans retained control of the State Senate through alliances with dissident Democrats. Democrats maintained control of the New York State Assembly.
New York had 29 electoral votes at stake. As is the case with most states, the electors were winner-takes-all. The candidates that achieved ballot access were as follows, in order of their position on the ballot:
President Obama won New York by a 63.4-35.2% margin over Gov. Mitt Romney. [1]
Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to the seat by Governor David Paterson in 2009, and was officially elected in a special election on November 2, 2010. Senator Gillibrand sought re-election for a full term against Republican attorney Wendy E. Long, who defeated Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos and U.S. Representative Bob Turner in a primary election for the Republican Party nomination. [2] Sen. Gillibrand was re-elected by a margin of 72.2%-26.3% over Long. [3]
After a loss of two seats following the 2010 United States Census, the New York congressional delegation was reduced from twenty-nine to twenty-seven U.S. Representatives. The two existing districts that were eliminated were District 9, held by Republican Rep. Bob Turner, [4] [5] [ better source needed ] and District 22, held by retiring Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey. [6] Democratic Reps. Gary Ackerman [7] and Democratic Maurice Hinchey, [8] as well as freshman Republican Bob Turner, [9] did not seek re-election to the House of Representatives.
On Election Day, the Democratic Party regained the 17th and 24th districts previously held by Republicans, while the Republican Party regained the 27th district previously held by a Democrat. [10] In total, 21 Democrats and six Republicans prevailed thereby reducing the Republican seats by two and leaving the Democrats' total unchanged. [3]
Following the 2010 census, the Senate was redistricted effective in January 2013. The newly redistricted Senate was expanded from 62 to 63 seats. On June 24, 2011, same-sex marriage became legal in New York upon the enactment of the Marriage Equality Act. [11] The passage of the Marriage Equality Act had an impact upon the 2012 State Senate elections, as three Republican senators who voted for the bill faced primary challenges [12] [13] and the Conservative Party of New York withdrew support for any candidate who had voted for the bill. [14] (In New York, which allows fusion voting, Republican candidates are often endorsed by the Conservative Party. [15] ) Republican Senators Roy McDonald, James Alesi, Mark Grisanti, and Stephen Saland each voted in favor of the Marriage Equality Act. [12] Carl Paladino, the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nominee, announced he would financially back primary candidates against Grisanti and Saland. [16] Sen. Alesi opted to retire instead of facing a potential primary challenge; [17] Sen. McDonald lost a Republican primary to Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione; [18] and Sen. Saland won his Republican primary, [19] but lost the general election to Democrat Terry Gipson [20] by a margin of approximately 2,000 votes [21] after his primary challenger, Neil Di Carlo, remained on the ballot on the Conservative line and acted as a spoiler. [22]
Of the four Republican state senators who voted for the Marriage Equality Act in 2011, only Sen. Grisanti was re-elected in 2012. [23] The Conservative Party endorsed former county legislator Charles Swanick (a registered Democrat), [24] while Carl Paladino and local Tea Party activists endorsed Republican Kevin Stocker in a primary contest against Grisanti. The Democrats nominated Hamburg Attorney Michael Amodeo, who faced a primary challenge from Swanick as well as former senator Al Coppola. Additionally, Kenmore Mayor Patrick Mang was endorsed by the Working Families Party. [25] Amodeo and Grisanti won their respective primaries, setting up a three-way contest between Amodeo, Grisanti, and Swanick in November. Grisanti prevailed. [26]
Democrats also gained seats in Senate Districts 17 where Democrat Simcha Felder defeated Republican incumbent David Storobin and 55 where Ted O'Brien defeated Sean Hanna. [27] [28] [29] In Senate District 46, which was a new district that was created through the redistricting process following the 2010 census, the Republican candidate who was sworn in as the victor was later found, following a recount, to have lost the election. Republican George Amedore was sworn into the State Senate following the election, but a recount revealed that Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk had defeated Amedore by 18 votes; therefore, Amedore vacated the seat, becoming the shortest-tenured senator in modern New York history. [29] [30] Thus, Democrats flipped three seats and won a newly created fourth.
While 33 Democrats prevailed on Election Day, the Democratic Party did not regain control of the Senate. On December 4, 2012, Senate Republicans announced a power-sharing deal with the five-member Independent Democratic Conference, which had defected from the Senate Democratic leadership in 2011. Under that agreement, Republican Leader Dean Skelos and IDC Leader Jeff Klein would alternate every two weeks as Temporary President of the Senate. [31] The agreement allowed the Republicans and the IDC to jointly control the Senate despite the Democrats' 33-30 numerical advantage. In addition, Democratic senator-elect Simcha Felder stated that he would caucus with the Republicans. [32]
On March 20, 2012, special elections were held to fill vacant seats in New York State Assembly districts 93, 100, 103, and 145. In November 2012, elections were held for all 150 Assembly seats. On Election Day, Democrats retained control of the Assembly by a wide margin. [28]
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U.S. Senate in 1970 and served for one term. Since 2010, the party has held "Row C" on New York ballots—the third-place ballot position, directly below the Democratic and Republican parties—because it received the third-highest number of votes of any political party in the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 New York gubernatorial elections. The party is known for its strategy of attempting to influence the Republican Party in a more conservative direction.
The 1976 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. Held on November 2, the 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with Democrat Jimmy Carter's presidential election and the United States Bicentennial celebration. Although almost half of the seats decided in this election changed parties, Carter's narrow victory did not provide coattails for the Democratic Party. Each party flipped seven Senate seats, although, one of the seats flipped by Democrats was previously held by a Conservative.
The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 5, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year. The Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. This saw Republicans win a Senate seat in Florida for the first time since Reconstruction.
The 1964 United States Senate elections were held on November 3. The 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2023, this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. However, internal divisions would have prevented the Democrats from having done so. The Senate election cycle coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
The 2006 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of New York, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections, then incumbent Republican governor George Pataki chose not to run for re-election in a fourth term. Democrat Eliot Spitzer, the New York Attorney General, won the election over former Republican state Assembly minority leader John Faso. As of 2024, this is the last time the Governor’s office in New York changed partisan control. This was the first open-seat election since 1982. Primary elections were held on September 12. This is the last gubernatorial election where any of the following counties voted Democratic: Genesee, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Niagara, Fulton, Steuben, Tioga & Schoharie.
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. The Democratic Party has held control of the New York State Senate since 2019. The Senate Majority Leader is Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
Alfred "Al" Coppola is a former state senator and politician in New York. A resident of Buffalo, New York, Coppola is a long time political figure in the city, who served briefly as the 57th District member in the New York Senate at the turn of the 21st century.
New York State Assembly, District 99 is located in the southern part of the State of New York in the United States. District 99 is north of New York City and is composed of parts of Orange and Rockland Counties. It is encompassed by New York's 40th State Senate district and New York's 42nd State Senate district, as well as New York's 17th congressional district and New York's 18th congressional district since redistricting in 2022.
The results of elections in the state of New York have tended to be more Democratic-leaning than in most of the United States, with in recent decades a solid majority of Democratic voters, concentrated in New York City and some of its suburbs, including Westchester County, Rockland County and Long Island's Nassau county, and in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Ithaca.
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Stephen M. Saland is an American attorney and politician. He was a Republican member of the New York State Senate, representing the 41st District from 1990 to 2012. Prior to his Senate tenure, Saland served in the New York State Assembly. Saland is notable as one of four Republican Members of the New York State Senate that voted in favor of the Marriage Equality Act in 2011. Following his vote for same-sex marriage, Saland lost his 2012 re-election bid to Democrat Terry Gipson. Since 2016, Saland has served on the board of the state Thruway Authority.
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Mark John Grisanti is an American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York. After being elected to the New York State Senate in District 60 as a Republican in 2010, Grisanti took office as a State Senator on January 3, 2011. Grisanti served in the State Senate from 2011 to 2014, when he was defeated in the Republican primary and in the general election. Grisanti was appointed to the New York State Court of Claims in May 2015 and later became an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Eighth Judicial District.
The Marriage Equality Act is a 2011 landmark New York State law that made same-sex marriage legal. The bill was introduced in the New York State Assembly by Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell and in the New York State Senate by Senator Thomas Duane. It was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on June 24, 2011 and took effect on July 24, 2011.
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