Capitol Update

After the election in 2020, Democrats in NYS continued to control all statewide offices, as well as overwhelming majorities in both the State Senate (43Ds-20Rs) and the State Assembly (107Ds-43Rs). 

This election cycle, due to the federal census, Congressional and State Legislative district lines were withdrawn and after a series of legal battles were approved causing incumbents to retire and/or face off against each other.  Add in the concern over public safety and the state of the economy, this mid-term election cycle faced those concerns against individual rights and ongoing resentment against former President Trump.

While results still coming in from certain jurisdictions and absentee ballots still being sorted out which could potentially alter the outcome of some of the closer races, it is safe to say that New York  Democrats weathered the national red wave of Republican gains across the country.   

Democrats were able to hold onto the statewide offices of Governor (Hochul), Attorney General (James) and State Comptroller (DiNapoli). 

Governor Hochul has become the first ever elected female Governor of New York.

The following is a summary of the election results for the State Senate and Assembly as we know them to be at this moment.  As in the case every election cycle, the focus of this continuing update will be on the State results and conclude with a federal election synopsis of the NY delegation in Washington DC. 

As always, please contact us if you have any questions about any of this information.

NYS Assembly

As anticipated and without surprise Democrats will continue to hold the majority in the State Assembly.  However, Republicans were able to gain seats in suburban areas as well as areas in NYC, particularly in Brooklyn and Queens. As of now, as absentee ballots continue to be counted, it appears that the Assembly Democrats will hold onto 101 seats, while Republicans will have 49 members.  

Going into the 2023 session, while the Assembly Democrats will maintain majority, one issue for the Assembly and its leadership will be incorporating new committee chairs, after many retirements and defeats of longstanding members. 

As a result of the 2022 elections:

Democrats:  99
Democrat Leading – Too Close to Call:  2

Republicans:  45
Republican Leading – Too Close to Call: 4

For a full rundown of Assembly races: CLICK HERE.

NYS Senate

As votes counting continues, concession speeches have been made and some vote tallies have been updated and adjusted, we can provide the following update on the NYS Senate.   Senator James Skoufis(D) and Senator Peter Harckham(D) have won their contests.  In addition, Democratic candidate Lea Webb has won the race for the 52^nd Senate District.   Democrats in the Senate now have a path to hold onto their vetoproof super majority (requires at least 42 of the 63 state senate seats) that they gained as a result of the 2020 elections.

As a result of the 2022 elections:

Democrats:  40
Democrat Leading – Too Close to Call:  1

Republicans:  21
Republican Leading – Too Close to Call: 1

For an updated look at the composition of the NYS Senate from the 2022 elections: CLICK HERE.

U.S. House of Representatives

 Overview: Democrats defied expectations in the midterm elections, potentially defending enough seats to maintain control of the Senate but likely not enough to keep Republicans from taking the House. The battle for power in Congress stood too close to call this morning.

Republicans advanced toward control of the House but by smaller margins than forecast and Democrats gained a Senate seat in Pennsylvania, as voters delivered a mixed verdict in an election shaped by concerns about inflation and by the nation’s divisions on cultural and social issues.

Some of the bellwether races that had been targets for Republicans suggested the party’s gains in the midterms may be limited and even below historical averages.

U.S. Senate

With a 50-50 Senate heading into the election, record campaign spending, and 35 seats up for grabs, the battle for control of the U.S. Senate came down to tight races in states across the country. Republicans were defending 21 seats versus 14 held by Democrats.

In the biggest victory of the night for Democrats, John Fetterman narrowly defeated Republican television celebrity Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race, which was one of the nation’s hardest fought contests. Fetterman’s win was vital to any Democratic hopes of keeping control of the Senate.

Many of the biggest contests are too close to call. Here’s where the rest of the major races stand:

• Georgia: Raphael Warnock, the Democratic incumbent, leads Herschel Walker, the Trump-backed former football star, but the race appeared headed to a Dec. 6 runoff.
• Nevada: The race between Catherine Cortez Masto, a one-term Democratic incumbent, and Adam Laxalt, the state’s election-denying former attorney general, remained too close to call. Many ballots are left to count.
• Arizona: Mark Kelly, the Democratic incumbent, led Blake Masters, a Trump-endorsed venture capitalist.
• Wisconsin: Ron Johnson, the Republican incumbent, narrowly led Mandela Barnes, the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor.
• Republicans held on to seats in Ohio, where J.D. Vance, a critic-turned-defender of Trump, beat Tim Ryan, a Democratic member of Congress., and in North Carolina, where Ted Budd, a Republican member of Congress, defeated Cheri Beasley, the state’s Democratic former chief justice.
• Maggie Hassan, a two-term Democratic incumbent in New Hampshire, easily beat Don Bolduc, a Republican retired Army general who had questioned the 2020 election results.

House

In the House, Republicans are favored to win control, but they appear to be on track to do so by less than many political observers expected. Headed into the election, Democrats held a narrow majority in the House: 220 to 212. Republicans needed to win 19 competitive seats to take control. So far, they have won five.

The latest forecasts project that Republicans will end up with 224 seats, just above the 218 needed to secure a majority. That result would be the weakest performance by the president’s opposing party in a midterm election since 2002.

• Republicans flipped seats in New Jersey and Virginia. In New York’s Hudson Valley, Mike Lawler was leading Sean Patrick Maloney, the head of the Democrats’ House campaign arm.
• Democrats flipped Republican-held House seats in Ohio and Michigan and held on to vulnerable seats in Virginia, New Hampshire and elsewhere.
• Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat, won re-election in an Ohio district redrawn to favor Republicans. She is set to become the longest-serving woman in congressional history.
• Mary Peltola, a Democrat and the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, was ahead of Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich in Alaska’s sole House election.
• Vermont elected Becca Balint, a progressive Democrat, to its lone House seat, becoming the last U.S. state to send a woman to Congress.
• Maxwell Frost, a 25-year-old Democrat, will become the first Gen Z member of Congress after winning a Florida House seat.

NYS Congressional Delegation

This year, US Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer faced reelection and defeated his Republican opponent.  However, NY like the rest of the nation experienced some effect Republican gains, particularly in House races.  While control of the US Senate is yet to be determined, the US House of Representatives has discussed above seems like to switch from Democrat to Republican control.  

The full House will vote for the Speaker when the next Congress convenes in January. NY Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who was re-elected is expected to hold a significant leadership role in the House of Representatives.  Each congressional seat was up for election in New York, and the results can be found below.   Reminder due to the census, NY went from 27 members to 26 members of the House of Representatives.

As of the 2022 Election: CLICK HERE.