New York State Senate elections, 2016

New York 2016 elections

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2016 New York
Senate Elections

Primary| September 13, 2016
General| November 8, 2016
2016 Election Results

2014・2012・2010・2008
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2016 Elections

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All 63 seats in the New York State Senate were up for election in 2016.

A Ballotpedia analysis identified the New York State Senate as one of 20 battleground chambers in the November 2016 election. These are the chambers where one party might have, realistically, toppled the other party from its position of majority control.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Democrats fielded unopposed candidates in 15 districts, while Republicans had nine unchallenged candidates.

* There were six open seats—three Democratic and three Republican—in 2016. All six of those seats had general election competition.

* Republicans and Democrats faced off in 23 total districts; only three seats were competitive or mildly competitive in 2014.[1]

This election was one of Ballotpedia's top 10 state-level races in 2016.
Click here to read the full list.

## Contents

* 1 Introduction
* 2 Majority control
* 3 Retired incumbents
* 4 Context of the 2016 elections
* 5 Races we watched
* 5.1 General election contests
* 6 List of candidates
* 6.1 District 1
* 6.2 District 2
* 6.3 District 3
* 6.4 District 4
* 6.5 District 5
* 6.6 District 6
* 6.7 District 7
* 6.8 District 8
* 6.9 District 9
* 6.10 District 10
* 6.11 District 11
* 6.12 District 12
* 6.13 District 13
* 6.14 District 14
* 6.15 District 15
* 6.16 District 16
* 6.17 District 17
* 6.18 District 18
* 6.19 District 19
* 6.20 District 20
* 6.21 District 21
* 6.22 District 22
* 6.23 District 23
* 6.24 District 24
* 6.25 District 25
* 6.26 District 26
* 6.27 District 27
* 6.28 District 28
* 6.29 District 29
* 6.30 District 30
* 6.31 District 31
* 6.32 District 32
* 6.33 District 33
* 6.34 District 34
* 6.35 District 35
* 6.36 District 36
* 6.37 District 37
* 6.38 District 38
* 6.39 District 39
* 6.40 District 40
* 6.41 District 41
* 6.42 District 42
* 6.43 District 43
* 6.44 District 44
* 6.45 District 45
* 6.46 District 46
* 6.47 District 47
* 6.48 District 48
* 6.49 District 49
* 6.50 District 50
* 6.51 District 51
* 6.52 District 52
* 6.53 District 53
* 6.54 District 54
* 6.55 District 55
* 6.56 District 56
* 6.57 District 57
* 6.58 District 58
* 6.59 District 59
* 6.60 District 60
* 6.61 District 61
* 6.62 District 62
* 6.63 District 63
* 7 Margins of victory
* 8 Competitiveness
* 8.1 Candidates unopposed by a major party
* 8.2 Primary challenges
* 8.3 Retired incumbents
* 8.4 Results from 2014
* 8.5 Historical context
* 9 Campaign contributions
* 9.1 State comparison
* 10 Qualifications
* 11 See also
* 12 External links
* 13 Footnotes

## Introduction[edit]

Elections for the New York State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 13, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for major party candidates was July 14, 2016. The filing deadline for independent candidates was August 23, 2016.

## Majority control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the election, the New York State Senate was controlled by Republicans through a power-sharing agreement. Simcha Felder (D) was a part of the Republican Conference. Jeffrey Klein, David Valesky, David Carlucci, Diane Savino, and Tony Avella were a part of the Independent Democratic Conference, tipping the balance further towards the GOP.

Republicans continued to maintain control of the chamber after the election through the same power-sharing agreement with Felder and the Independent Democratic Conference.[2]

New York State Senate

Party  |  As of November 7, 2016  |  After November 8, 2016
|  Democratic Party |  31  |  32
|  Republican Party |  31 |  31
|  Vacant  |  1  |  0
Total |  63 |  63

## Retired incumbents[edit]

Five incumbent senators did not seek re-election in 2016. Those incumbents were:

Name  |  Party  |  Current Office

|
|

Jack Martins |  Republican | Senate District 7
Adriano Espaillat |  Democratic | Senate District 31
Hugh Farley |  Republican | Senate District 49
Michael Nozzolio |  Republican | Senate District 54
Marc C. Panepinto |  Democratic | Senate District 60

Note: District 36 was vacant, and was previously represented by Ruth Hassell-Thompson (D).

## Context of the 2016 elections[edit]

See also: State legislative battleground chambers, 2016

Before the Republican Party regained control of the state Senate in 2014, the party had held the majority off and on for over four decades. The Democratic Party gained the majority in 2008 but lost it in 2010. While Democrats held the numerical advantage after the 2012 election, a coalition of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) and the Republicans helped give Republicans control.[3] Since Senate Democrats won a special election in District 9 on April 19, 2016, Democrats held a one-seat advantage over Republicans, but the power-sharing agreement between the IDC and Senate Republicans kept the chamber in Republican control.

The New York State Senate was identified by the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee (RLCC) as a defensive target for 2016.[4] The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) and Republican Legislative Campaign Committee (RLCC) planned to spend $40 million on legislative races for the 2015-2016 election cycle.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) named Senate District 6 and Senate District 7 in their "2016 Essential Races."[5][6]

Of the 25 state Senate seats deemed competitive by Ballotpedia, 24 were effectively controlled by the Republican Party. One of those seats belonged to David Carlucci, a Republican-leaning member of the Independent Democratic Conference. Twenty of those districts were won by Barack Obama in 2012. These competitive races, coupled with the idea that a Clinton win in the state would also bring legislative seats, gave possibility that control of the New York State Senate could have shifted into the Democrats' favor.

An article published on the political research website FiveThirtyEight.com speculated that the presidential election would affect state legislative races. Seth Masket, the author of this article, noted that, historically, there is a measurable "trickle-down" affect from presidential elections. A victory or loss on the presidential ticket tends to translate to comparable gains or losses in the legislative branch. Clinton's victory in New York likely helped Senate Democrats.[7]

Long Island was considered to be one of the key battlegrounds in the state Senate since its nine-member delegation was made up of eight Republicans.[8] One of the campaign strategies for Long Island Democratic candidates was to tie Nassau County's Republican Senate candidates to Donald Trump (R). Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R) endorsed Trump for president. Flanagan said, "I’m going to make this unequivocally clear. I’m supporting Donald Trump for president. I’m going to do so with grace, with diplomacy, with passion and with fervor and I’m going to do it with New York style."[9] A Siena poll from September 2016 found that, "62% of voters statewide — including 56% in the suburbs — believed that Trump would hurt, not help, the GOP effort to maintain its Senate majority. The same poll showed 67% of suburban voters held an unfavorable view of Trump and just 32% in the suburbs were prepared to vote for him in November."[10] Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif believed that Democrats had a "complete and absolute fixation on Donald Trump" to hide their failures of when they controlled the Senate in 2009 and 2010. Reif said, "When you are wrong on all of the issues that Long Island taxpayers and their families care about — and the Senate Democrats are thoroughly and utterly wrong — you look for anything else to put in front of voters."[10]

## Races we watched[edit]

Ballotpedia identified six notable New York state legislative races in 2016, all six of which were state Senate contests.

Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of notable New York races »

### General election contests[edit]

State Senate District 6

A Democratic candidate challenged the Republican incumbent to a rematch.
☑ Kemp Hannon (Inc.) ☐ Ryan E. Cronin

State Senate District 7

A Democratic candidate and a Republican candidate competed for the open seat vacated by a Republican incumbent.
☐ Adam Haber ☑ Elaine Phillips

State Senate District 9

A Republican candidate and Green Party candidate challenged the newly elected Democratic incumbent to a rematch.
☑ Todd Kaminsky (Inc.) ☐ Christopher McGrath ☐ Laurence Hirsh

State Senate District 40

A Democratic candidate and Working Families candidate challenged the freshman Republican incumbent.
☑ Terrence Murphy (Inc.) ☐ Alison Boak ☐ Andrew Falk

State Senate District 41

A Democratic candidate challenged the Republican incumbent to a rematch.
☑ Sue Serino (Inc.) ☐ Terry Gipson

State Senate District 60

A Democrat, a Republican, and a Green Party candidate competed for the open seat vacated by a Democratic incumbent.
☐ Amber Small ☑ Christopher Jacobs ☐ James DePasquale

## List of candidates[edit]

### District 1[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Greg Fischer a

Republican primary candidates:

* Kenneth LaValle (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

November 8 General election candidates:
Greg Fischer: 47,813
Kenneth LaValle: 94,756 (I) a

### District 2[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Peter N. Magistrale a

Republican primary candidates:

* John J. Flanagan (I) a

Conservative and Independence

Libertarian candidate:

* Stephen Ruth

November 8 General election candidates:
Peter N. Magistrale: 47,623
John J. Flanagan: 91,172 (I) a
Stephen Ruth: 5,505

### District 3[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* John De Vito Jr.: 1,390 a

Working Families

* Joseph L. Fritz: 1,012

Women's Equality

* Ricardo Montano: 898

Republican primary candidates:

* Tom Croci (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

November 8 General election candidates:
John De Vito Jr.: 46,108
Tom Croci: 65,713 (I) a
Joseph L. Fritz: 1,363 (Women's Equality)

### District 4[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* John Alberts a

Republican primary candidates:

* Philip Boyle (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
John Alberts: 45,232
Philip Boyle: 76,411 (I) a

### District 5[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* James Gaughran a

Working Families and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* Carl Marcellino (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

November 8 General election candidates:
James Gaughran: 72,265
Carl Marcellino: 74,024 (I) a

### District 6[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Ryan E. Cronin a

Working Families and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* Kemp Hannon (I) a

Conservative, Independence, Reform, and TRP-Tax Revolt
November 8 General election candidates:
Ryan E. Cronin: 60,938
Kemp Hannon: 71,174 (I) a

### District 7[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Adam Haber a

Working Families and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* Elaine Phillips a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Adam Haber: 66,029
Elaine Phillips: 69,438 a

### District 8[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* John E. Brooks a

Working Families and Women's Equality

Republican primary candidates:

* Michael Venditto (I) a

Conservative, Independence, TRP-Tax Revolt, and Reform

November 8 General election candidates:
John E. Brooks: 68,599 a
Michael Venditto: 68,285 (I)

### District 9[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Todd Kaminsky (I) a

Working Families and Women's Equality

Republican primary candidates:

* Christopher McGrath a

Conservative, Independence, Reform, and TRP-Tax Revolt

Green primary candidates:

* Laurence Hirsh a

November 8 General election candidates:
Todd Kaminsky: 75,245 (I) a
Christopher McGrath: 68,823

Laurence Hirsh: 1,459

### District 10[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* James Sanders, Jr.: 5,495 (I) a

Working Families

* Adrienne E. Adams: 3,988

Women's Equality

Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

November 8 General election candidates:
James Sanders, Jr.: 84,582 (I) a
Adrienne E. Adams: 3,054 (Women's Equality)

### District 11[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Tony Avella (I) a

Republican primary candidates:

* Mark Cipolla a

Conservative and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Tony Avella: 72,520 (I) a
Mark Cipolla: 31,797

### District 12[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Michael Gianaris (I) a

Working Families

Republican primary candidates:

* Marvin R. Jeffcoat a

Conservative
November 8 General election candidates:
Michael Gianaris: 82,328 (I) a
Marvin R. Jeffcoat: 13,409

### District 13[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Jose Peralta: (I) a

Working Families

Republican primary candidates:

* Jesus Gonzalez a

Conservative and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Jose Peralta: 59,896 (I) a
Jesus Gonzalez: 9,162

### District 14[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Leroy Comrie (I) a

Working Families
Republican primary candidates:

* Jarret N. Freeman a

November 8 General election candidates:
Leroy Comrie: 97,578 (I) a
Jarret N. Freeman: 8,364

### District 15[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Joseph Addabbo (I) a

Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* Michael Conigliaro a

Conservative and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Joseph Addabbo: 62,460 (I) a
Michael Conigliaro: 35,691

### District 16[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Toby Ann Stavisky: 5,690 (I) a

Working Families and Women's Equality

* S.J. Jung: 3,966

Republican primary candidates:

* Carlos G. Giron a

Conservative and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Toby Ann Stavisky: 52,495 (I) a
Carlos G. Giron: 14,856

### District 17[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Simcha Felder (I) a

Republican and Conservative
Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

November 8 General election candidates:
Simcha Felder (I) a

### District 18[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Debbie Medina: 3,988
* Martin Malave Dilan: 5,844 (I) a

Independence

Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

November 8 General election candidates:
Martin Malave Dilan (I) a

### District 19[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Mercedes Narcisse: 3,284
* Roxanne Persaud: 10,358 (I) a

Working Families

Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

November 8 General election candidates:
Roxanne Persaud (I) a

### District 20[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Jesse Hamilton (I) a

Working Families and Independence
Republican primary candidates:

* Menachem Raitport a

Conservative
November 8 General election candidates:
Jesse Hamilton: 90,272 (I) a
Menachem Raitport: 5,706

### District 21[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Kevin Parker (I) a

Working Families
Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Conservative primary candidates:

* Brian Kelly a

November 8 General election candidates:
Kevin Parker: 109,682 (I) a
Brian Kelly: 4,256

### District 22[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Republican primary candidates:

* Martin Golden (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

November 8 General election candidates:
Martin Golden (I) a

### District 23[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Diane Savino (I) a

Independence
Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

November 8 General election candidates:
Diane Savino (I) a

### District 24[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Republican primary candidates:

* Andrew Lanza (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Andrew Lanza (I) a

### District 25[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Michael Cox: 4,719

Independence

* Velmanette Montgomery: 10,579 (I) a

Working Families
Republican primary candidates:

* Mamie Rose a

November 8 General election candidates:
Velmanette Montgomery: 114,943 (I) a
Mamie Rose: 3,896
Michael Cox: 4,247

### District 26[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Daniel Squadron (I) a

Working Families
Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

November 8 General election candidates:
Daniel Squadron (I) a

### District 27[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Brad M. Hoylman (I) a

Working Families
Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

RPP-Roberts candidate:

* Stephen Roberts

November 8 General election candidates:
Brad M. Hoylman: 118,371 (I) a
Stephen Roberts: 5,317

### District 28[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Liz Krueger (I) a

Working Families
Independence primary:

* Mike Zumbluskas a

Republican, Women's Equality, and Libertarian
November 8 General election candidates:
Liz Krueger: 101,117 (I) a
Mike Zumbluskas: 33,788

### District 29[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Jose M. Serrano (I) a

Republican primary candidates:

* Jose A. Colon a

Conservative primary candidates:

* Linda Ortiz a

November 8 General election candidates:
Jose M. Serrano: 56,194 (I) a
Jose A. Colon: 6,158
Linda Ortiz: 1,752

### District 30[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Bill Perkins (I) a

Working Families
Republican primary candidates:

* Jon Girodes a

November 8 General election candidates:
Bill Perkins: 113,144 (I) a
Jon Girodes: 5,619

### District 31[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Robert Jackson: 7,936
* Marisol Alcantara: 8,469 a
* Micah Lasher: 8,175
* Luis Tejada: 1,316

Republican primary candidates:

* Melinda Crump a

Conservative primary candidates:

* John Toro a

Green primary candidates:

* Julia Willebrand a

November 8 General election candidates:
Marisol Alcantara: 97,964 a
Melinda Crump: 8,719
John Toro: 1,368

Julia Willebrand: 6,400

### District 32[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Ruben Diaz: 8,557 (I) a
* Elliot Quinones: 1,069

Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Conservative primary candidates:

* Oswald Denis a

November 8 General election candidates:
Ruben Diaz: 79,574 (I) a
Oswald Denis: 2,292

### District 33[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* J. Gustavo Rivera: 6,036 (I) a

Working Families

* Fernando Cabrera: 3,549

Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Conservative primary candidates:

* Steven Stern a

November 8 General election candidates:
J. Gustavo Rivera: 61,953 (I) a
Steven Stern: 1,340

### District 34[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Jeffrey Klein (I) a

Independence and Women's Equality

Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Conservative primary candidates:

* Aleksander Mici a

Green primary candidates:

* Carl Lundgren a

November 8 General election candidates:
Jeffrey Klein: 80,998 (I) a
Aleksander Mici: 6,080

Carl Lundgren: 2,686

### District 35[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Andrea Stewart-Cousins (I) a

Working Families, Independence, and Women's Equality

Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

November 8 General election candidates:
Andrea Stewart-Cousins (I) a

### District 36[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Edward Mulraine: 2,503
* Jamaal Bailey: 8,629 a

Working Families

* Alvin Ponder: 932
* Pamela Hamilton-Johnson: 2,270
* Que English: 1,175

Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Conservative primary candidates:

* Robert Diamond a

November 8 General election candidates:
Jamaal Bailey: 88,233 a
Robert Diamond: 2,456

### District 37[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* George Latimer (I) a

Working Families and Women's Equality

Republican primary candidates:

* Julia P. Killian a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

November 8 General election candidates:
George Latimer: 73,116 (I) a
Julia P. Killian: 58,164

### District 38[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* David Carlucci (I) a

Independence and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* Thomas F. DePrisco a

Conservative and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
David Carlucci: 77,317 (I) a
Thomas F. DePrisco: 41,612

### District 39[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Christopher W. Eachus a

Working Families and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* William Larkin (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Christopher W. Eachus: 52,986
William Larkin: 59,428 (I) a

### District 40[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Alison Boak: 4,344 a

Working Families

* Andrew I. Falk: 1,179

Republican primary candidates:

* Terrence P. Murphy (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Alison Boak: 58,737
Terrence P. Murphy: 80,312 (I) a

### District 41[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Terry W. Gipson a

Working Families, Women's Equality and Green
Republican primary candidates:

* Susan J. Serino (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Terry W. Gipson: 58,616
Susan J. Serino: 72,942 (I) a

### District 42[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Opportunity to ballot [11]

Republican primary candidates:

* John Bonacic (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

November 8 General election candidates:
Pramilla Malick: 43,209
John Bonacic: 68,047 (I) a

### District 43[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Shaun P. Francis a

Working Families

Republican primary candidates:

* Kathleen A. Marchione (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

Green primary candidates:

* Joseph Levy a

November 8 General election candidates:
Shaun P. Francis: 50,660
Kathleen A. Marchione: 85,057 (I) a

Joseph Levy: 3,330

### District 44[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Neil Breslin (I) a

Working Families and Independence
Republican primary candidates:

* Christopher Davis a

Conservative and Reform

Green primary candidates:

* Deyva Arthur a

November 8 General election candidates:
Neil Breslin: 77,809 (I) a
Christopher Davis: 33,094

Deyva Arthur: 2,498

### District 45[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Republican primary candidates:

* Betty Little (I) a

Conservative and Independence

Green primary candidates:

* Stephen Matthew Ruzbacki a

November 8 General election candidates:
Betty Little: 92,717 (I) a

Stephen Matthew Ruzbacki: 12,553

### District 46[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Sara K. Niccoli a

Working Families and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* George Amedore (I) a

Conservative, Green, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Sara K. Niccoli: 48,986
George Amedore: 83,970 (I) a

### District 47[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Republican primary candidates:

* Joseph Griffo (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Joseph Griffo (I) a

### District 48[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Republican primary candidates:

* Patricia Ritchie (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Patricia Ritchie (I) a

### District 49[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Chad Putman a

Working Families and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* James Tedisco: 9,010 a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

* Christian Klueg II: 5,429

November 8 General election candidates:
Chad Putman: 38,884
James Tedisco: 87,056 a

### District 50[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Republican primary candidates:

* John DeFrancisco (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
John DeFrancisco (I) a

### District 51[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Jermaine Bagnall-Graham a

Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* James L. Seward (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

November 8 General election candidates:
Jermaine Bagnall-Graham: 31,626
James L. Seward: 84,527 (I) a

### District 52[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Sharon Y. Ball a

Working Families
Republican primary candidates:

* Fred Akshar (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Sharon Y. Ball: 30,571
Fred Akshar: 89,180 (I) a

### District 53[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* David Valesky (I) a

Independence and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

November 8 General election candidates:
David Valesky (I) a

### District 54[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Kenan Baldridge a

Republican primary candidates:

* Floyd Rayburn: 3,735

Reform

* Pamela Helming: 3,945 a

Conservative and Independence

* Brian Manktelow: 2,123
* Jon Ritter: 952
* Sean Hanna: 1,370

November 8 General election candidates:
Kenan Baldridge: 40,739
Pamela Helming: 74,175 a
Floyd Rayburn: 8,350 (Reform)

### District 55[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Republican primary candidates:

* Rich Funke (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Rich Funke (I) a

### District 56[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Ann C. Lewis a

Working Families

Republican primary candidates:

* Joseph Robach (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

November 8 General election candidates:
Ann C. Lewis: 42,764
Joseph Robach: 73,574 (I) a

### District 57[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Lee Hyson a

Working Families and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* Catharine Young (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Lee Hyson: 19,136
Catharine Young: 93,320 (I) a

### District 58[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Leslie Danks Burke a

Working Families and Women's Equality
Republican primary candidates:

* Thomas O'Mara (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Leslie Danks Burke: 52,488
Thomas O'Mara: 63,270 (I) a

### District 59[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Tom Casey a

Republican primary candidates:

* Patrick Gallivan (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Tom Casey: 37,675
Patrick Gallivan: 100,293 (I) a

### District 60[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Alfred T. Coppola: 3,712
* Amber Small: 7,348 a

Working Families and Women's Equality

Republican primary candidates:

* Christopher Jacobs: 4,902 a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

* Kevin T. Stocker: 1,586

Green primary candidates:

* James DePasquale a

November 8 General election candidates:
Amber Small: 51,036
Christopher Jacobs: 77,327 a

James DePasquale: 2,835

### District 61[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Thomas A. Loughran a

Working Families and Women's Equality

Republican primary candidates:

* Michael Ranzenhofer (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform

Green primary candidates:

* Ruben Cartagena Jr. a

Working Families Party candidates:

* Andre N. Liszka: 13
* Thomas A. Loughran: 46 a

November 8 General election candidates:
Thomas A. Loughran: 53,363
Michael Ranzenhofer: 75,255 (I) a

Ruben Cartagena Jr.: 2,012

### District 62[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

Republican primary candidates:

* Robert Ortt (I) a

Conservative, Independence, and Reform
November 8 General election candidates:
Robert Ortt (I) a

### District 63[edit]

Democratic primary candidates:

* Timothy M. Kennedy (I) a

Independence, Working Families, and Women's Equality

Republican primary candidates:

* No candidates filed for election.

November 8 General election candidates:
Timothy M. Kennedy (I) a

## Margins of victory[edit]

The average margin of victory for contested races in the New York State Senate in 2016 was higher than the national average. Out of 63 races in the New York State Senate in 2016, 48 were contested, meaning at least two candidates competed for that seat in the general election. The average margin of victory across these races was 45.8 percent. Across contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016, the average margin of victory was 29.01 percent.[12]

Democratic candidates in the New York State Senate saw larger margins of victory than Republican candidates in 2016. Democrats won 32 races. In the 24 races where a winning Democrat faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 64.9 percent. Republicans won 31 races in 2016. In the 24 races where a winning Republican faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 26.8 percent.

More Republican candidates than Democratic candidates saw margins of victory that were less than 10 percentage points. Seven of the 48 contested races in 2016—14.6 percent—saw margins of victory that were 10 percent or less. Four races saw margins of victory that were 5 percent or less. Republicans won five races with margins of victory of 10 percent or less.

New York State Senate: 2016 Margins of Victory Less than 10 Percent

District | Winning Party | Margin of Victory
District 5 | R | 1.2 percent
District 6 | R | 7.7 percent
District 7 | R | 2.5 percent
District 8 | D | 0.2 percent
District 9 | D | 4.4 percent
District 39 | R | 5.7 percent
District 58 | R | 9.3 percent
The average margin of victory for incumbents in the New York State Senate who ran for re-election and won in 2016 was higher than the national average. 56 incumbents who ran for re-election in 2016 won. The average margin of victory for the 41 winning New York State Senate incumbents who faced a challenger in 2016 was 47.3 percent. The average margin of victory for all winning incumbents in contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016 was 31.8 percent.

Democratic incumbents in the New York State Senate saw larger margins of victory than Republican incumbents. 29 Democratic incumbents won re-election. In the 21 races where a winning Democratic incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 65.9 percent. 27 Republican incumbents won re-election. In the 20 races where a winning Republican incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 27.8 percent.

New York State Senate: 2016 Margin of Victory Analysis

Party | Elections won | Average margin of victory[13] | Races with incumbent victories | Average margin of victory for incumbents[13] | Unopposed incumbents | Unopposed races | Percent unopposed
Democratic | 32 | 64.9 percent | 29 | 65.9 percent | 8 | 8 | 25.0 percent
Republican | 31 | 26.8 percent | 27 | 27.8 percent | 7 | 7 | 22.6 percent
Total | 63 | 45.8 percent | 56 | 47.3 percent | 15 | 15 | 23.8 percent

Click [show] on the tables below to see the margin of victory in New York State Senate districts in 2016.

New York State Senate: 2016 Margin of Victory by District

District | Winning Party | Margin of Victory
District 1 | R | 32.9 percent
District 2 | R | 30.2 percent
District 3 | R | 17.3 percent
District 4 | R | 25.6 percent
District 5 | R | 1.2 percent
District 6 | R | 7.8 percent
District 7 | R | 2.5 percent
District 8 | D | 0.2 percent
District 9 | D | 4.4 percent
District 10 | D | 93.0 percent
District 11 | D | 39.0 percent
District 12 | D | 72.0 percent
District 13 | D | 73.5 percent
District 14 | D | 84.2 percent
District 15 | D | 27.3 percent
District 16 | D | 55.9 percent
District 17 | D | Unopposed
District 18 | D | Unopposed
District 19 | D | Unopposed
District 20 | D | 88.1 percent
District 21 | D | 92.5 percent
District 22 | R | Unopposed
District 23 | D | Unopposed
District 24 | R | Unopposed
District 25 | D | 89.9 percent
District 26 | D | Unopposed
District 27 | D | 91.4 percent
District 28 | D | 49.9 percent
District 29 | D | 78.1 percent
District 30 | D | 90.5 percent
District 31 | D | 78.0 percent
District 32 | D | 94.4 percent
District 33 | D | 95.8 percent
District 34 | D | 83.5 percent
District 35 | D | Unopposed
District 36 | D | 94.6 percent
District 37 | D | 11.4 percent
District 38 | D | 30.0 percent
District 39 | R | 5.7 percent
District 40 | R | 15.5 percent
District 41 | R | 10.9 percent
District 42 | R | 22.3 percent
District 43 | R | 24.7 percent
District 44 | D | 39.4 percent
District 45 | R | 76.2 percent
District 46 | R | 26.3 percent
District 47 | R | Unopposed
District 48 | R | Unopposed
District 49 | R | 38.3 percent
District 50 | R | Unopposed
District 51 | R | 45.5 percent
District 52 | R | 48.9 percent
District 53 | D | Unopposed
District 54 | R | 27.1 percent
District 55 | R | Unopposed
District 56 | R | 26.5 percent
District 57 | R | 66.0 percent
District 58 | R | 9.3 percent
District 59 | R | 45.4 percent
District 60 | R | 20.0 percent
District 61 | R | 16.8 percent
District 62 | R | Unopposed
District 63 | D | Unopposed

## Competitiveness[edit]

### Candidates unopposed by a major party[edit]

In 23 of the 63 seats up for election in 2016, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of 15 Democrats and eight Republicans were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.

Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in 40 (63.4 percent) of the 63 seats up for election.

### Primary challenges[edit]

Seven incumbents faced primary competition on September 13. Five incumbents did not seek re-election, one seat was vacant, and another 50 incumbents were set to advance past the primary without opposition.

### Retired incumbents[edit]

Five incumbent senators did not run for re-election, while 57 incumbents ran for re-election. One seat is vacant. The retiring incumbents—two Democrats and three Republicans—can be found above.

### Results from 2014[edit]

See also: 2014 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. All three aspects of Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Index—the number of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition, and general elections between partisan candidates—showed poor results compared to the prior election cycle. States with elections in 2014 held fewer general elections between partisan candidates. Additionally, fewer incumbents faced primary opposition and more incumbents ran for re-election than in recent years.

Since 2010, when the Competitiveness Index was established, there had not been an even-year election cycle to do statistically worse in any of the three categories. See the following chart for a breakdown of those scores between each year.

Overall Competitiveness

|  2010  |  2012  |  2014
Competitiveness Index  | 36.2  | 35.8  | 31.4
% Open Seats  | 18.6%  | 21.2%  | 17.0%
% Incumbent with primary challenge  | 22.7%  | 24.6%  | 20.1%
% Candidates with major party opposition  | 67.3%  | 61.7%  | 57.0%

The following table details New York's rates for open seats, incumbents that faced primary challenges, and major party competition in the 2014 general election.

New York Legislature 2014 Competitiveness

% Open Seats  |  % Incumbent with primary challenge  |  % Candidates with major party opposition  |  Competitiveness Index  |  Overall rank
9.9%  |  15.1%  |  58.2%  |  27.7  |  28

### Historical context[edit]

See also: Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections: 1972-2014

Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.

Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.

Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.

Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.

## Campaign contributions[edit]

The following chart shows how many candidates ran for State Senate in New York in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in State Senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests.[14]

New York State Senate Donations

Year  | Candidates  | Amount
2014  |  136  |  $43,219,580
2012  |  148  |  $41,850,728
2010  |  133  |  $48,059,743
2008  |  142  |  $46,470,593
2006  |  118  |  $34,038,836

### State comparison[edit]

The map below shows the average contributions to 2014 candidates for state senates. The average contributions raised by state senate candidates in 2014 was $148,144. New York, at $317,791 per candidate, is ranked six of 42 for state senate chambers with the highest average contributions. Hover your mouse over a state to see the average campaign contributions for that state’s senate candidates in 2014.[14][15]

## Qualifications[edit]

Article 3, Section 7 of the New York Constitution states: "No person shall serve as a member of the legislature unless he or she is a citizen of the United States and has been a resident of the state of New York for five years, and, except as hereinafter otherwise prescribed, of the assembly or senate district for the twelve months immediately preceding his or her election; if elected a senator or member of assembly at the first election next ensuing after a readjustment or alteration of the senate or assembly districts becomes effective, a person, to be eligible to serve as such, must have been a resident of the county in which the senate or assembly district is contained for the twelve months immediately preceding his or her election. No member of the legislature shall, during the time for which he or she was elected, receive any civil appointment from the governor, the governor and the senate, the legislature or from any city government, to an office which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time."

## See also[edit]

* New York State Senate
* New York State Legislature
* State legislative elections, 2016

## External links[edit]

|  Suggest a link

|

* Primary candidate list
* General election filings

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Under Ballotpedia's competitiveness criteria, districts that have a margin of victory of less than 5 percent are considered highly competitive. Districts that have a margin of victory from 5 to 10 percent are considered mildly competitive.
2. ↑ buffalonews.com, "Breakaway Democrats decide to stick with GOP in New York State Senate," January 2, 2017
3. ↑ NY Times, "In Rebuke to Democrats, Voters Return Control of New York Senate to G.O.P.," accessed January 21, 2016
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `rslc`
5. ↑ Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, "DLCC Expands List of 2016 Essential Races," accessed October 7, 2016
6. ↑ Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, "DLCC ANNOUNCES 2016 ESSENTIAL RACES," accessed October 7, 2016
7. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "How a Trump debacle could affect the House and state legislatures," accessed August 24, 2016
8. ↑ Politico, "Democrats' path to possible Senate control begins on Long Island," accessed September 13, 2016
9. ↑ Time Warner Cable News, "New York Democrats See Opportunity With State Republicans' Embrace of Trump," accessed September 13, 2016
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 NY Daily News, "LOVETT: Donald Trump is Democrats’ new weapon in battle for control of New York Senate," accessed September 13, 2016
11. ↑ Pramilla Malick ran on the Democratic line in the primary as a write-in candidate.
12. ↑ This calculation excludes chambers that had elections where two or more members were elected in a race. These chambers are the Arizona House, the New Hampshire House, the North Dakota House, the South Dakota House, the Vermont House, the Vermont Senate, and the West Virginia House.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Excludes unopposed elections
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 followthemoney.org, "Contributions to candidates and committees in elections in New York," accessed July 28, 2015
15. ↑ This map relies on data collected in July 2015.

[show]

Current members of the New York State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Minority Leader:Robert Ortt

Senators

District 1

Anthony Palumbo (R)

District 2

Mario Mattera (R)

District 3

Alexis Weik (R)

District 4

Philip Boyle (R)

District 5

James Gaughran (D)

District 6

Kevin Thomas (D)

District 7

Anna Kaplan (D)

District 8

John Brooks (D)

District 9

Todd Kaminsky (D)

District 10

James Sanders (D)

District 11

John Liu (D)

District 12

Michael Gianaris (D)

District 13

Jessica Ramos (D)

District 14

Leroy Comrie (D)

District 15

Joseph Addabbo (D)

District 16

Toby Stavisky (D)

District 17

Simcha Felder (D)

District 18

Julia Salazar (D)

District 19

Roxanne Persaud (D)

District 20

Zellnor Myrie (D)

District 21

Kevin Parker (D)

District 22

Andrew Gounardes (D)

District 23

Diane Savino (D)

District 24

Andrew Lanza (R)

District 25

Jabari Brisport (D)

District 26

Brian Kavanagh (D)

District 27

Brad Hoylman (D)

District 28

Liz Krueger (D)

District 29

Jose Serrano (D)

District 30

Vacant

District 31

Robert Jackson (D)

District 32

Luis Sepulveda (D)

District 33

J. Rivera (D)

District 34

Alessandra Biaggi (D)

District 35

Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D)

District 36

Jamaal Bailey (D)

District 37

Shelley Mayer (D)

District 38

Elijah Reichlin-Melnick (D)

District 39

James Skoufis (D)

District 40

Peter Harckham (D)

District 41

Susan Serino (R)

District 42

Mike Martucci (R)

District 43

Daphne Jordan (R)

District 44

Neil Breslin (D)

District 45

Daniel Stec (R)

District 46

Michelle Hinchey (D)

District 47

Joseph Griffo (R)

District 48

Patricia Ritchie (R)

District 49

James Tedisco (R)

District 50

John Mannion (D)

District 51

Peter Oberacker (R)

District 52

Fred Akshar (R)

District 53

Rachel May (D)

District 54

Pamela Helming (R)

District 55

Samra Brouk (D)

District 56

Jeremy Cooney (D)

District 57

George Borrello (R)

District 58

Thomas O'Mara (R)

District 59

Patrick Gallivan (R)

District 60

Sean Ryan (D)

District 61

Edward Rath (R)

District 62

Robert Ortt (R)

District 63

Timothy Kennedy (D)

Democratic Party (42)

Republican Party (20)

Vacancies (1)

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