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Elections were held in theState of New York 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 presidentBarack Obama defeated Republican nomineeMitt Romney in New York and was re-elected. Incumbent Democratic U.S. SenatorKirsten 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 werewinner-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 GovernorDavid Paterson in 2009, and was officially elected in aspecial election on November 2, 2010. Senator Gillibrand sought re-election for a full term against Republican attorneyWendy E. Long, who defeated Nassau County ComptrollerGeorge Maragos and U.S. RepresentativeBob 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 the2010 United States census, the New York congressional delegation was reduced from twenty-nine to twenty-sevenU.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] andDemocraticMaurice Hinchey,[8] as well as freshmanRepublican 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 theMarriage 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 theConservative 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 SenatorsRoy McDonald,James Alesi,Mark Grisanti, andStephen 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 DemocratTerry 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 DemocratSimcha 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. RepublicanGeorge Amedore was sworn into the State Senate following the election, but a recount revealed that DemocratCecilia 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-memberIndependent 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 inNew 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]
