John T. McDonald III (New York)
John T. McDonald III (Democratic Party) is a member of theNew York State Assembly, representingDistrict 108. He assumed office on January 1, 2013. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.
McDonald (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to theNew York State Assembly to representDistrict 108. He won in the general election onNovember 5, 2024.
Biography
McDonald earned his B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Albany College of Pharmacy in 1985.[1] He served as the Mayor of the City of Cohoes from 2000-2012.
Committee assignments
2025-2026
McDonald was assigned to the following committees:
- Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee
- Governmental Operations Committee,Chair
- Higher Education Committee
- Health Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
2023-2024
McDonald was assigned to the following committees:
- Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee
- Governmental Operations Committee,Chair
- Health Committee
- Higher Education Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
2021-2022
McDonald was assigned to the following committees:
- Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee
- Health Committee
- Higher Education Committee
- Insurance Committee
- Oversight, Analysis and Investigation Committee,Chair
- Real Property Taxation Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
2019-2020
McDonald was assigned to the following committees:
- Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee
- Real Property Taxation Committee
- Higher Education Committee
- Insurance Committee
- Local Governments Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| New York committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| •Aging |
| •Alcoholism and Drug Abuse |
| •Cities |
| •Higher Education |
| •Real Property Taxation |
| •Ways and Means |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, McDonald served on the following committees:
| New York committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| •Alcoholism and Drug Abuse |
| •Insurance |
| •Aging |
| •Cities |
| •Mental Health |
| •Real Property Taxation |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, McDonald served on the following committees:
| New York committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| •Aging |
| •Cities |
| •Mental Health |
| •Real Property Taxation |
| •Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: New York State Assembly elections, 2024
General election
General election for New York State Assembly District 108
IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III won election in the general election for New York State Assembly District 108 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | John T. McDonald III (D) | 98.8 | 35,851 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.2 | 432 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 36,283 | ||
 = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III advanced from the Democratic primary for New York State Assembly District 108.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for McDonald in this election.
2022
See also: New York State Assembly elections, 2022
General election
General election for New York State Assembly District 108
IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III won election in the general election for New York State Assembly District 108 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John T. McDonald III (D) | 99.3 | 25,418 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 181 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 25,599 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III advanced from the Democratic primary for New York State Assembly District 108.
2020
See also: New York State Assembly elections, 2020
General election
General election for New York State Assembly District 108
IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III defeatedPetros Papanicolaou andSamuel Fein in the general election for New York State Assembly District 108 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John T. McDonald III (D / Independence Party) | 65.5 | 31,508 |
| Petros Papanicolaou (R / Conservative Party) | 25.7 | 12,342 | ||
| Samuel Fein (Working Families Party) | 8.8 | 4,233 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 27 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 48,110 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New York State Assembly District 108
IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III defeatedSamuel Fein in the Democratic primary for New York State Assembly District 108 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John T. McDonald III | 58.0 | 6,023 |
| Samuel Fein | 41.4 | 4,303 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 67 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 10,393 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled.Petros Papanicolaou advanced from the Republican primary for New York State Assembly District 108.
Conservative Party primary election
The Conservative Party primary election was canceled.Petros Papanicolaou advanced from the Conservative Party primary for New York State Assembly District 108.
Independence Party primary election
The Independence Party primary election was canceled. IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III advanced from the Independence Party primary for New York State Assembly District 108.
Working Families Party primary election
The Working Families Party primary election was canceled.Samuel Fein advanced from the Working Families Party primary for New York State Assembly District 108.
2018
McDonald also ran in the 2018 election as anIndependence Party candidate.
General election
General election for New York State Assembly District 108
IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III won election in the general election for New York State Assembly District 108 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John T. McDonald III (D / Independence Party) | 99.4 | 27,872 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 159 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 28,031 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New York State Assembly District 108
IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III advanced from the Democratic primary for New York State Assembly District 108 on September 13, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | John T. McDonald III |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | |||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Elections for theNew York State Assembly 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.
IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III ran unopposed in the New York State Assembly District 108 general election.[2][3]
| New York State Assembly, District 108 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  John T. McDonald IIIIncumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source:New York Board of Elections | ||
IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III ran unopposed in the New York State Assembly District 108 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| New York State Assembly, District 108 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | John T. McDonald IIIIncumbent (unopposed) | |
McDonald also ran on the Independence Party ticket.
2014
Elections for theNew York State Assembly took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election took place onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 10, 2014. IncumbentJohn T. McDonald III was unopposed in the Democratic primary, whileCarl Gottstein, Jr. was unopposed in the Republican primary. McDonald ran on theIndependence Party of New York State and Gottstein ran on theConservative Party and LAJ-Law and Justice tickets. McDonald defeated Gottstein in the general election.[6][7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John T. McDonald IIIIncumbent | 73.5% | 17,884 | |
| Republican | Carl Gottstein, Jr. | 26.5% | 6,450 | |
| Total Votes | 24,334 | |||
2012
McDonald ran in the2012 election forNew York State Assembly District 108. McDonald defeatedCarolyn McLaughlin -- who also ran on theWorking Families Party ticket -- andBrian Scavo in the Democratic primary on September 13, 2012. He defeatedCarolyn McLaughlin and James Campbell (L) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[9][10][11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John T. McDonald, III | 76.3% | 28,197 | |
| Working Families Party | Carolyn McLaughlin | 20.7% | 7,646 | |
| Libertarian | James Campbell | 3% | 1,117 | |
| Total Votes | 36,960 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| John McDonald III | 55.2% | 5,045 |
| Carolyn McLaughlin | 44.8% | 4,094 |
| Total Votes | 9,139 | |
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John T. McDonald III did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
John T. McDonald III did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
John T. McDonald III did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
McDonald's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[12]
Protecting and Expanding the Rights of Women
- Excerpt: "I understand how important it is to protect women’s rights. I value a woman’s right to choose and believe reproductive health is a private issue between a woman and her doctor. At our family pharmacy, I’ve made sure that women have access to pre-natal and pregnancy care, as well as, the full range of contraception—including emergency contraception. It is essential for women to get equal pay for equal work and we must do all we can as a community and a society to stop violence against women."
Revitalize our neighborhoods and business districts by attracting and retaining businesses
- Excerpt: "We need to continue to expand neighborhood stabilization programs and encourage home ownership in our neighborhoods. Additionally, we need to expand programs such as the New York Main Street Program to include funding support for those who want to start a business. This will lead to expansion of our tax base and revitalization of our historic downtowns [sic] and neighborhood retail districts."
Address the statewide imbalance in education funding
- Excerpt: "It is my intent to fight to make sure education aid is distributed fairly and proportionately. Having been married to a teacher for almost two decades and being closely involved with the Cohoes City School District, I am understand what goes on inside and outside the classroom. It is incumbent upon all of us to provide the resources to help our youth reach their maximum potential in our education system."
Seniors
- Excerpt: "I am committed to working to ensure the financial security of our seniors. Whether it is property taxes, health care costs or elder care, we need to protect our seniors on all fronts as they have paid their dues during their time in the workplace and deserve the best in their "Golden Years"."
Create secure and sustainable middle class jobs
- Excerpt: "With the arrival of Global Foundries, continued growth of SUNY Nanotech, RPI Tech Park, and SUNY Albany East, we have the proper elements in place to provide a pipeline for tomorrow's jobs. Additionally, we are fortunate to have 18 universities in our immediate area allowing the opportunity for many of our underprivileged to acquire an affordable college education. These educational opportunities will lead to future economic prosperity for them and their families."
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.
| Year | Office | Status | Contributions | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024* | New York State Assembly District 108 | Won general | $0 | $0 |
| 2022 | New York State Assembly District 108 | Won general | $147,522 | $0 |
| 2020 | New York State Assembly District 108 | Won general | $158,716 | N/A** |
| 2016 | New York State Assembly, District 108 | Won | $69,740 | N/A** |
| 2014 | New York State Assembly, District 108 | Won | $89,512 | N/A** |
| 2012 | New York State Assembly, District 108 | Won | $145,600 | N/A** |
| ** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle | ||||
| Note: Totals above reflect only available data. | ||||
Scorecards
Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of New York scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, theNew York State Legislature was in session from January 3 to June 8.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, theNew York State Legislature was in session from January 4 to June 21.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, theNew York State Legislature was in session from January 5 to June 4.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, theNew York State Legislature was in session from January 6 to June 10.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, theNew York State Legislature was in session from January 8 to December 31.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, theNew York State Legislature was in session from January 9 through January 8, 2020.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the 202ndNew York State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 3 through June 20.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 202ndNew York State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 4 through December 31. A recess began June 21, and there was a special session June 28-29.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 201stNew York State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 6 through June 18.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 201stNew York State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 7 through June 25.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 200thNew York State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 8 to June 19, 2014.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 200thNew York State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 9 to December 31.
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Endorsements
2014
In 2014, McDonald's endorsements included the following:[13]
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Personal
Note: Pleasecontact us if the personal information below requires an update.
McDonald and his wife, Renee, have four children.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Candidate New York State Assembly District 108 | Officeholder New York State Assembly District 108 | Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑Project Vote Smart, "Biography of Rep. McDonald,” accessed August 1, 2014
- ↑New York State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election Candidate List," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑New York State Board of Elections, "Election results, 2016," accessed December 23, 2016
- ↑New York State Board of Elections, "Filings received for the 2016 State/Local Primary," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑New York State Board of Elections, "Election returns September 13, 2016," accessed November 6, 2016
- ↑New York Board of Elections, "Certification for the September 9, 2014, State Primary Election," accessed December 17, 2014
- ↑New York Board of Elections, "Primary results for September 9, 2014," accessed October 1, 2014
- ↑New York Board of Elections, "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns November 4, 2014," accessed December 17, 2014
- ↑State of New York, State Board of Elections, "Candidate List for the September 13, 2012, State Primary Election," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑State of New York, State Board of Elections, "Official September 13, 2012, Primary Results," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑State of New York, State Board of Elections, "Official Assembly Election Returns Nov. 6, 2012," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑McDonald for Assembly, "Issues," accessed October 10, 2014
- ↑McDonald for Assembly, "Endorsements," accessed October 10, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Steven McLaughlin (R) | New York State Assembly District 108 2013-Present | Succeeded by - |
- 2016 general election (winner)
- 2016 incumbent
- 2018 general election (winner)
- 2018 incumbent
- 2018 primary (winner)
- 2020 general election (winner)
- 2020 incumbent
- 2020 primary (winner)
- 2022 general election (winner)
- 2022 incumbent
- 2022 primary (winner)
- 2024 general election (winner)
- 2024 incumbent
- 2024 primary (winner)
- Current member, New York State Assembly
- Current state legislative member
- Current state representative
- Democratic Party
- Independence Party
- New York
- New York State Assembly candidate, 2016
- New York State Assembly candidate, 2018
- New York State Assembly candidate, 2020
- New York State Assembly candidate, 2022
- New York State Assembly candidate, 2024
- State House candidate, 2016
- State House candidate, 2018
- State House candidate, 2020
- State House candidate, 2022
- State House candidate, 2024
- State house candidates
- 2018 unopposed
- 2012 challenger
- House of Representatives candidate, 2012
- 2012 primary (winner)
- 2012 general election (winner)
- 2012 unopposed
- State representatives first elected in 2012
- 2014 incumbent
- State House candidate, 2014
- 2014 primary (winner)
- 2014 general election (winner)
- 2016 primary (winner)
