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Close races and captured seats in New York special elections
March 21, 2012
On Tuesday, New York held five special elections for the State Legislature. Of those five races, two are still too close to call--Assembly District 103 and Senate District 27. Out of the three decided races, Democrats captured one seat--Assembly District 100. Republicans nominally captured a seat in Assembly District 145, but the GOP candidate was actually a Democrat running to challenge the endorsed Democratic candidate. New York special elections do not employ a primary election process. Rather each county party selects its nominee. Once Tuesday's elections are decided and the winners sworn in, just over 30 percent of New York's legislators will have won their seat in a special election.[1][2]
A breakdown of the special elections:
- New York Assembly District 93: Shelley Mayer (D) defeated Donnamarie Nolan (R). Nolan suspended her campaign when her father experienced a stroke. Mayer will replace Mike Spano (D) who resigned in 2011 after being elected Mayor of Yonkers.[3]
- New York Assembly District 100: Frank Skartados (D) defeated John Forman (R) by a 5,440 to 1,913 margin. The seat was formerly held by Republican Thomas Kirwan. Kirwan passed away in 2011 at the age of 78. In the 2010 general election, Kirwan had narrowly unseated then-Assemblyman Skartados.[4]
- New York Assembly District 103: Reports from the morning of March 21 suggest that Didi Barrett (D) leads Richard Wager (R) by 154 votes. Approximately 1000 absentee ballots remain to be counted. The winner will replace Marcus Molinaro (R) who resigned after being elected Dutchess County executive.[5]
- New York Assembly District 145: Michael Kearns (R) defeated Christopher Fahey (D) by a 7,106 to 5,357 margin. Although Kearns ran on the Republican ticket, he is a self-professed Democrat. Kearns will replace Mark Schroeder (D) who resigned after being elected Buffalo City comptroller.[6]
- New York Senate District 27: Reports from the morning of March 21 suggest that David Storobin (R) leads Lewis Fidler (D) by 126 votes. 700 absentee ballots remain to be counted. The winner will replace Carl Kruger (D) who resigned in 2011 after pleading guilty to corruption charges.[7]
Partisan impact
Democrats succeeded in flipping a seat on Tuesday. However, both of the undecided races could result in further political changes. (All totals are pre-election.)
New York Assembly Partisan Balance
| Party | As of March 19 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 96 | |
| Republican Party | 49 | |
| Independence Party of New York | 1 | |
| Vacancy | 4 | |
| Total | 150 | |
New York Senate Partisan Balance
| Party | As of March 19 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 29 | |
| Republican Party | 32 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | |
| Total | 62 | |
See also
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Footnotes
- ↑ Politicker, "After Special Elections Today, Ranks Of Those Elected In Specials To Swell," March 20, 2012
- ↑ Post Star, "2 races too close to call in NY special election," March 21, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Mayer eases to win for Westchester Assembly seat," March 20, 2012
- ↑ Times Herald-Record, "Skartados defeats Forman in 100th Assembly District," March 20, 2012
- ↑ Poughkeepsie Journal, "Wager-Barrett race too close to call in 103rd District," March 20, 2012
- ↑ Buffalo News, "Kearns is winner in landslide upset," March 21, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Brooklyn Daily, "Fidler vs. Storobin race too close to call!" March 21, 2012
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