The 2018 New York State Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018, to elect representatives from all 63
State Senate
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
districts in the U.S. state of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Primary elections were held on September 13, 2018.
In April 2018, ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' described the State Senate as the "last bastion of power" of the Republican Party in the State of New York. On Election Day, Democrats gained control of the chamber from the Republicans by picking up eight seats. The following day, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that the Democrats had "decisively evict
dRepublicans from running the State Senate, which they
adcontrolled for all but three years since World War II". Enrolled Democrats won 40 of the chamber's 63 seats,
including all but one seat in New York City and six of the nine seats on Long Island, the latter of which had been under total Republican control since the early 1970s. Brooklyn Senator
Simcha Felder
Simcha Felder (born December 30, 1958) is an American politician from Borough Park, Brooklyn. He represents the 17th district of the New York State Senate. Felder has been elected to multiple offices as a Democrat, but is known for having caucus ...
, a Democrat who had previously caucused with the Republicans, sought to re-join the Senate Democratic Conference, but was turned down in December 2018; he was later accepted into the Conference on July 1, 2019.
The Democrats' election victories made possible the January 2019 election of
Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Andrea Alice Stewart-Cousins (née Stewart; born September 2, 1950) is an American politician and educator from Yonkers, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Stewart-Cousins has represented District 35 in the New York State Senate since ...
as the first female
Majority Leader and Temporary President in the chamber's history.
Party composition
The vote totals for each party were:
Summary of results
Sources:
Retiring incumbents
Five incumbent Republican senators did not seek re-election in 2018. They were:
*
Thomas Croci
Thomas D. Croci is an American politician and naval officer from the state of New York. A Republican, Croci represented the 3rd District of the New York State Senate from 2015 through 2018. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for ...
(R), District 3
*
William J. Larkin Jr. (R), District 39
*
John Bonacic
John J. Bonacic (born June 14, 1942 in New York City) is a retired politician from New York. A Republican, Bonacic represented New York State Senate District 42 (which includes all or parts of Delaware, Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster Counties) ...
(R), District 42
*
Kathy Marchione (R), District 43
*
John A. DeFrancisco
John A. DeFrancisco (born October 16, 1946) is an attorney and Republican politician who formerly represented District 50 in the New York State Senate from 1993 to 2018. Senate District 50 comprises Skaneateles, Pompey, Van Buren, most of Onon ...
(R), District 50
Incumbents defeated
In primary
Seven incumbent Senators (all Democrats) ran for re-election, but were defeated in the September 13 primaries. They were:
*
Tony Avella
Anthony Avella Jr. (born October 27, 1951) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the New York State Senate's 11th district in northeast Queens from 2011 to 2019. The district included the mostly affluent n ...
(D-District 11)
*
Jose Peralta (D-District 13)
*
Martin Malave Dilan
Martin Malavé Dilan (born September 12, 1950) is a former member of the New York State Senate representing the 17th and 18th Senate Districts. The 18th Senate District encompasses the northern Brooklyn communities of Bushwick, Williamsburg, ...
(D-District 18)
*
Jesse Hamilton
Jesse Hamilton is an American lawyer and politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the New York State Senate's 20th District, including parts of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Brownsville and ...
(D-District 20)
*
Marisol Alcantara
Marisol Alcantara is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented the New York State Senate's 31st District from 2017 to 2018. Alcantara is a former member of the Independent Democratic Conference ( ...
(D-District 31)
*
Jeffrey D. Klein
Jeffrey David Klein (born July 10, 1960) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. He represented the New York State Senate's New York's 34th State Senate district, 34th District, serving p ...
(D-District 34)
*
David Valesky
David J. Valesky (b. circa 1966) is an American politician who is a former member of the New York State Senate. A Democrat, Valesky represented the 53rd Senate District and the 49th Senate District in upstate New York.
Career
Valesky was fi ...
(D-District 53)
With the exception of Sen. Dilan, all seven had been members of the
Independent Democratic Conference
The Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) was a group of members of the New York State Senate from the Democratic Party who were elected as Democrats but formed a coalition to give the Republicans the majority in the chamber, and attempted to ...
.
In general election
The following Republican incumbents were defeated on Election Day:
*
Carl L. Marcellino (R-District 5)
*
Kemp Hannon
J. Kemp Hannon (born January 10, 1946) is an American politician. A Republican, Hannon was a member of the New York State Senate from the 6th district in Nassau County between 1989 and 2018.
Biography
Hannon graduated from Chaminade High Scho ...
(R-District 6)
*
Elaine Phillips
Elaine Phillips is an American politician who currently serves as Nassau County Comptroller, with a term beginning in January 2022. She was elected to the position in a landslide victory, defeating Democrat Ryan Cronin 61%-39% to succeed retiring ...
(R-District 7)
*
Martin Golden
Martin J. Golden (born September 22, 1950) is an American politician from Brooklyn, New York, one of the five boroughs of New York City. A Republican, Golden represented the 43rd district in the New York City Council from 1998 to 2002 and r ...
(R-District 22)
*
Terrence Murphy (R-District 40)
The six Democratic members of the IDC who were defeated in the September primaries (Sens. Avella, Peralta, Hamilton, Alcantara, Klein, and Valesky) were also on the ballot in November on either the Independence Party line, the Women's Equality Party line, or both (Sen. Peralta also received votes on the Reform Party line). None of the six was re-elected.
Detailed results
![New York Senate Results 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/New_York_Senate_Results_2018.png)
*The
New York State Board of Elections
The New York State Board of Elections is a bipartisan agency of the New York state government within the New York State Executive Department responsible for enforcement and administration of election-related laws. It also regulates campaign fina ...
only publishes results for contested primary elections.
Sources:
District 1
District 2
District 3
The
3rd district is located on Long Island and includes
Medford,
Ronkonkoma, and
Sayville
Sayville is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located on the South Shore of Long Island in the Township of Islip, the population of the CDP was 16,853 at the time of the 2010 census.
History
The ea ...
. Republican
Thomas Croci
Thomas D. Croci is an American politician and naval officer from the state of New York. A Republican, Croci represented the 3rd District of the New York State Senate from 2015 through 2018. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for ...
has represented this district since 2015. Croci did not run for reelection.
District 4
District 5
District 6
In an unexpected upset, Democratic challenger
Kevin Thomas defeated Republican incumbent
Kemp Hannon
J. Kemp Hannon (born January 10, 1946) is an American politician. A Republican, Hannon was a member of the New York State Senate from the 6th district in Nassau County between 1989 and 2018.
Biography
Hannon graduated from Chaminade High Scho ...
.
District 7
District 8
District 9
Democrat
Todd Kaminsky was first elected in a 2016 special election.
Reform primary
General election
District 10
District 11
Democratic primary
*
Tony Avella
Anthony Avella Jr. (born October 27, 1951) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the New York State Senate's 11th district in northeast Queens from 2011 to 2019. The district included the mostly affluent n ...
, incumbent
*
John Liu
John Chun Yah Liu (born January 8, 1967) is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 11th district in northeast Queens. He previously served as the 43rd New Y ...
, former
New York City Comptroller
The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...
Republican primary
General election
District 12
Reform primary
General election
District 13
Democratic primary
*
Jose Peralta, incumbent
*
Jessica Ramos
Jessica Ramos (born June 27, 1985) is an American politician from the state of New York. Ramos is a member of the Democratic Party. Since 2019, she has served in the New York State Senate representing District 13, which currently includes the Que ...
, community activist
General election
District 14
District 15
Republican primary
Reform primary
General election
District 16
District 17
Democratic primary
* Simcha Felder, incumbent
* Blake Morris, attorney
General election
District 18
Democratic primary
*
Martin Malave Dilan
Martin Malavé Dilan (born September 12, 1950) is a former member of the New York State Senate representing the 17th and 18th Senate Districts. The 18th Senate District encompasses the northern Brooklyn communities of Bushwick, Williamsburg, ...
, incumbent
*
Julia Salazar
Julia Salazar (born December 30, 1990) is an American politician and activist. She is the New York State Senator for the 18th district, which covers much of northern Brooklyn, centered on Bushwick. She won the seat as a first-time candidate af ...
, political activist
General election
District 19
District 20
Democratic primary
*
Jesse Hamilton
Jesse Hamilton is an American lawyer and politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the New York State Senate's 20th District, including parts of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Brownsville and ...
, incumbent
*
Zellnor Myrie
Zellnor Myrie (born 1986) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served in the New York State Senate since 2019, representing the 20th state senate district, which includes parts of Brooklyn.
Early life and educati ...
, lawyer and former legislative director in
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
General election
District 21
District 22
Democratic challenger
Andrew Gounardes
Andrew Gounardes (born July 8, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a Democrat and a member of the New York State Senate, representing the 26th district, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park ...
defeated
Ross Barkan
Ross Elliot Barkan (born October 22, 1989) is an American journalist, novelist, columnist, and essayist.
Early life and education
Barkan grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He attended Stony Brook University and earned a master's degree from New Yo ...
in the Democratic primary and narrowly defeated Golden in the general election.
Democratic primary
*
Ross Barkan
Ross Elliot Barkan (born October 22, 1989) is an American journalist, novelist, columnist, and essayist.
Early life and education
Barkan grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He attended Stony Brook University and earned a master's degree from New Yo ...
, journalist
*
Andrew Gounardes
Andrew Gounardes (born July 8, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a Democrat and a member of the New York State Senate, representing the 26th district, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park ...
, 2012 Democratic nominee for NY-SD22
General election
District 23
Democratic primary
* Jasmine Robinson, legal secretary
*
Diane Savino
Diane J. Savino (born September 28, 1963) is an American Democratic politician who represented the 23rd Senate District in the New York State Senate, in northern Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, including Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, ...
, incumbent
* Brandon Stradford
Reform primary
General election
District 24
District 25
District 26
Reform primary
General election
District 27
District 28
Independence primary
General election
District 29
District 30
District 31
Democratic primary
*
Marisol Alcantara
Marisol Alcantara is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented the New York State Senate's 31st District from 2017 to 2018. Alcantara is a former member of the Independent Democratic Conference ( ...
, incumbent
*
Robert Jackson, former New York City councilman
* Thomas Leon
* Tirso Santiago Pina
General election
District 32
Democrat
Luis Sepúlveda
Luis Sepúlveda Calfucura (October 4, 1949 – April 16, 2020) was a Chilean writer and journalist. A communist militant and fervent opponent of Augusto Pinochet's regime, he was imprisoned and tortured by the military dictatorship during the ...
has represented this district since winning a special election in April 2018.
District 33
District 34
Democratic primary
*
Alessandra Biaggi, Deputy National Operations Director for
Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign
*
Jeffrey D. Klein
Jeffrey David Klein (born July 10, 1960) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. He represented the New York State Senate's New York's 34th State Senate district, 34th District, serving p ...
, incumbent
General election
District 35
Democratic primary
*
Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Andrea Alice Stewart-Cousins (née Stewart; born September 2, 1950) is an American politician and educator from Yonkers, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Stewart-Cousins has represented District 35 in the New York State Senate since ...
, incumbent
* Virginia Perez
General election
District 36
District 37
Democrat
Shelley Mayer
Shelley Mayer (born March 6, 1952) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the New York State Senate representing the 37th Senate District, which includes portions of Westchester County. Formerly a member of the New York St ...
has represented this district since winning a special election in April 2018.
District 38
Democrat
David Carlucci
David S. Carlucci ( ; born April 3, 1981) is an American politician in Rockland County, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the state senator for the 38th district, which includes most of Rockland County and parts of Westchest ...
, a former member of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), was first elected in 2010. Like other former IDC members, Carlucci received a Democratic primary challenge in 2018. After defeating Julie Goldberg in the primary, Carlucci turned back Republican Scott Vanderhoef in the general election.
Democratic primary
*
David Carlucci
David S. Carlucci ( ; born April 3, 1981) is an American politician in Rockland County, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the state senator for the 38th district, which includes most of Rockland County and parts of Westchest ...
, incumbent
* Julie Goldberg, school librarian
General election
District 39
Republican Sen.
William J. Larkin Jr. did not seek re-election.
[
]
Reform primary
General election
District 40
Democratic primary
General election
District 41
District 42
Republican John Bonacic
John J. Bonacic (born June 14, 1942 in New York City) is a retired politician from New York. A Republican, Bonacic represented New York State Senate District 42 (which includes all or parts of Delaware, Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster Counties) ...
, who has represented this district since 1999, did not seek re-election, and was succeeded by Democrat Jen Metzger
Jennifer "Jen" Metzger (born February 3, 1965) is an American politician serving as the County Executive of Ulster County, New York since 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States). She previously represented the 42nd district ...
.
Democratic primary
* Pramilla Malick, 2016 Democratic nominee for NYSD-42
* Jen Metzger
Jennifer "Jen" Metzger (born February 3, 1965) is an American politician serving as the County Executive of Ulster County, New York since 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States). She previously represented the 42nd district ...
, Rosendale town councilwoman
Reform primary
General election
District 43
Republican Kathy Marchione, who had represented this district since 2013, did not seek re-election, and was succeeded by fellow Republican Daphne Jordan
Daphne Veras Jordan (born November 28, 1959) is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the New York State Senate, representing the 43rd district since her election in 2018. The district includes northern portions of the Hud ...
.
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
Reform primary
General election
District 50
Republican John DeFrancisco
John A. DeFrancisco (born October 16, 1946) is an attorney and Republican politician who formerly represented District 50 in the New York State Senate from 1993 to 2018. Senate District 50 comprises Skaneateles, Pompey, Van Buren, most of Onon ...
has represented this district since 1993 and did not seek re-election. As of November 7, 2018, Republican Bob Antonacci led Democrat John Mannion by 2,829 votes and declared victory in the race, although absentee ballots remained to be counted. On November 21, 2018, elections officials confirmed Antonacci's victory.
District 51
District 52
District 53
Democratic primary
* Rachel May, board member of OCRRA and former college professor
* David Valesky
David J. Valesky (b. circa 1966) is an American politician who is a former member of the New York State Senate. A Democrat, Valesky represented the 53rd Senate District and the 49th Senate District in upstate New York.
Career
Valesky was fi ...
, incumbent
General election
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
Democratic primary
* Amanda Kirchgessner, community activist
* Michael Lausell, Schuyler County legislator
General election
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
Democratic primary
* Timothy M. Kennedy (incumbent)
* Shaqurah Zachery, teacher
General election
Aftermath
One question that remained after the 2018 elections was which caucus Democratic Senator Simcha Felder
Simcha Felder (born December 30, 1958) is an American politician from Borough Park, Brooklyn. He represents the 17th district of the New York State Senate. Felder has been elected to multiple offices as a Democrat, but is known for having caucus ...
would join. Felder, since his first Senate election in 2012, had been a member of the Republican majority. After the dissolution of the Independent Democratic Conference, Felder remained with the Republicans as the decisive vote for Senate control. Felder maintained throughout his tenure that he would rejoin the Democrats if doing so would benefit his district, but after retaking control of the Senate in the 2018 elections, the Senate Democratic Conference did not allow him to join. Felder was allowed into the Senate Democratic Conference in July 2019; this action gave the Conference a total of 40 members.
Notes
References
{{2018 United States elections
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate.
Partisan com ...
New York State Senate elections
Independent Democratic Conference