The1964 New York state election was held on November 3, 1964, to elect aU.S. Senator from New York, as well as all members of theNew York State Assembly and theNew York State Senate.
Democratic former U.S. Attorney GeneralRobert F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Republican Senator,Kenneth B. Keating.
| Office | Democratic ticket | Republican ticket | Liberal ticket | Conservative ticket | Socialist Labor ticket | Socialist Workers ticket | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Senator | Robert F. Kennedy | 3,539,746 | Kenneth B. Keating | 3,104,056 | Robert F. Kennedy | 284,646 | Henry Paolucci[1] | 212,216 | John Emanuel[2] | 7,358 | Richard Garza[3] | 4,202 |
The Democratic majority in theNew York State Senate was split into the followers of MayorRobert Wagner, Jr. (15 senators) and U.S. SenatorRobert F. Kennedy (18 senators). Thus noTemporary President of the State Senate could be elected and the State Senate could not be organized. After six weeks of deadlock, Republican GovernorNelson Rockefeller urged the Republican senators to vote forJoseph Zaretzki, the leader of the Wagner faction.
In April 1965, theNew York Court of Appeals voided the re-apportionment of the State Senate and Assembly districts enacted in December 1964, and ordered a new re-apportionment and a new election of State legislators in November 1965. Thus the legislators elected in 1964 served an exceptional one-year term, as did the legislators elected in 1965.
