Kenneth Schaeffer

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Kenneth Schaeffer

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Working Families Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Kenneth Schaeffer (Working Families Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 15th Congressional District. Schaeffer did not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 3, 2020.

Schaeffer also ran for election for judge of the New York Supreme Court 11th Judicial District. Schaeffer lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Schaeffer also ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 16th Congressional District. Schaeffer did not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 3, 2020.

Previously, Schaeffer was a 2016 Working Families Party candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of New York. He was also a candidate for the Supreme Court 8th Judicial District in New York. Schaeffer was defeated in the general election on November 8, 2016.

Education

Schaeffer received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

Elections

2020

New York Supreme Court election

See also: Municipal elections in Queens County, New York (2020)

General election

General election for New York Supreme Court 11th Judicial District (9 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for New York Supreme Court 11th Judicial District on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Tracy Catapano-Fox (D / R / Conservative Party)	11.8	582,484
✔	Submit photo	Evelyn L. Braun (D / R / Conservative Party)	11.2	550,808
✔	Submit photo	Kevin J. Kerrigan (D / R / Conservative Party)	10.8	533,309
✔	Submit photo	Leonard Livote (D / R / Conservative Party)	10.6	523,891
✔	Submit photo	Michelle Johnson (D)	9.0	442,269
✔		Karina Alomar (D)	8.2	403,191
✔	Submit photo	Darrell L. Gavrin (D)	8.1	397,859
✔		Mojgan Lancman (D)	8.0	392,623
✔	Submit photo	Lance Evans (D)	7.7	378,314
		Joseph Kasper (R / Conservative Party)	3.2	158,806
	Submit photo	John Spataro (R / Conservative Party)	3.1	151,043
		Bob Cohen (Working Families Party)	1.7	81,521
		Justin Sweet (Working Families Party)	1.6	76,460
	Submit photo	Afua Atta-Mensah (Working Families Party)	1.4	69,115
	Submit photo	Judith Goldiner (Working Families Party)	1.3	65,833
	Submit photo	Joshua Goldfein (Working Families Party)	1.3	65,031
	Submit photo	Kenneth Schaeffer (Working Families Party)	1.0	49,866
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	10,138

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,932,561
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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NY-16 election

See also: New York's 16th Congressional District election, 2020

New York's 16th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House New York District 16

Jamaal Bowman defeated Patrick McManus in the general election for U.S. House New York District 16 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jamaal Bowman (D)	84.0	218,514
		Patrick McManus (Conservative Party)	15.8	41,094
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	482

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 260,090
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kenneth Schaeffer (Working Families Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 16

Jamaal Bowman defeated incumbent Eliot Engel, Chris Fink, Sammy Ravelo, and Andom Ghebreghiorgis (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 16 on June 23, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jamaal Bowman	55.4	49,367
		Eliot Engel	40.6	36,149
		Chris Fink	1.8	1,625
		Sammy Ravelo	1.3	1,139
		Andom Ghebreghiorgis (Unofficially withdrew)	0.9	761
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	97

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 89,138
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kenneth Belvin (D)

Conservative Party primary election

The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. Patrick McManus advanced from the Conservative Party primary for U.S. House New York District 16.

Working Families Party primary election

The Working Families Party primary election was canceled. Jamaal Bowman advanced from the Working Families Party primary for U.S. House New York District 16.

NY-15 election

See also: New York's 15th Congressional District election, 2020

New York's 15th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)

New York's 15th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House New York District 15

Ritchie Torres defeated Patrick Delices in the general election for U.S. House New York District 15 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ritchie Torres (D)	88.7	169,533
		Patrick Delices (R / Conservative Party)	11.1	21,221
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	283

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 191,037
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Orlando Molina (R)
• Kenneth Schaeffer (Working Families Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 15

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 15 on June 23, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ritchie Torres	32.1	19,090
		Michael Blake	18.0	10,725
		Ruben Diaz	14.4	8,559
		Samelys Lopez	13.9	8,272
		Ydanis Rodriguez	10.6	6,291
		Melissa Mark-Viverito	4.3	2,561
		Tomas Ramos	2.4	1,442
		Chivona Newsome	2.3	1,366
		Marlene Tapper	0.7	392
		Julio Pabon	0.4	244
		Frangell Basora	0.3	189
	Submit photo	Mark Escoffery-Bey	0.3	153
	Submit photo	David Philip Franks Jr. (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	189

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 59,473
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Marlene Cintron (D)
• Jonathan Ortiz (D)
• Eric Stevenson (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Orlando Molina advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 15.

Conservative Party primary election

The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. Patrick Delices advanced from the Conservative Party primary for U.S. House New York District 15.

Working Families Party primary election

The Working Families Party primary election was canceled. Kenneth Schaeffer advanced from the Working Families Party primary for U.S. House New York District 15.

2018

New York Supreme Court election

See also: Municipal elections in New York, New York (2018)

General election

General election for New York Supreme Court 12th Judicial District (8 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for New York Supreme Court 12th Judicial District on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Robert E. Torres (D)	13.2	216,002
✔		Julio Rodriguez (D)	11.8	192,661
✔	Submit photo	Elizabeth A. Taylor (D)	11.6	190,184
✔	Submit photo	Llinet Rosado (D)	11.6	188,835
✔	Submit photo	Mary Ann Brigantti-Hughes (D)	11.3	185,116
✔	Submit photo	Marsha Michael (D)	11.2	183,626
✔	Submit photo	Ben Barbato (D)	10.9	178,136
✔	Submit photo	Eddie McShan (D)	10.8	177,216
	Submit photo	Gino Marmorato (R)	1.3	21,871
		James Gisondi (R)	1.2	19,348
	Submit photo	Benison DeFunis (R)	1.1	18,276
	Submit photo	Patricia Latzman (Working Families Party)	0.8	13,567
	Submit photo	Mark Schneider (Working Families Party)	0.7	11,444
	Submit photo	Kenneth Schaeffer (Working Families Party)	0.6	9,760
	Submit photo	Michael Lausell (Working Families Party)	0.5	8,948
		Bob Cohen (Working Families Party)	0.5	8,934
		Ronald Kim (Working Families Party)	0.5	8,511
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,535

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,633,970
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Selection method

See also: Partisan election of judges

The 324 justices of the New York Supreme Court are elected to 14-year terms in partisan elections. To appear on the ballot, candidates must be chosen at partisan nominating conventions. Sitting judges wishing to serve an additional term must run for re-election.

The chief judge of the court of appeals appoints two chief administrative judges of the supreme court, one to supervise trial courts within New York City and one to supervise trial courts outside of the city.

Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must:

• be a state resident;
• have had at least 10 years of in-state law practice;
• be at least 18 years old; and
• be under the age of 70 (retirement at 70 is mandatory).

Attorney General election

See also: New York Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of New York

Letitia James defeated Keith Wofford, Michael Sussman, Christopher B. Garvey, and Nancy Sliwa in the general election for Attorney General of New York on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Letitia James (D)	62.4	3,739,239
		Keith Wofford (R)	35.2	2,108,600
		Michael Sussman (G)	1.2	72,512
		Christopher B. Garvey (L)	0.7	43,767
	Submit photo	Nancy Sliwa (Reform Party)	0.4	26,441
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	2,958

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,993,517
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Vincent Messina (Independence Party)
• Kenneth Schaeffer (Working Families Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of New York

Letitia James defeated Zephyr Teachout, Sean Maloney, and Leecia Eve in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Letitia James	40.3	608,308
		Zephyr Teachout	31.0	468,083
		Sean Maloney	25.1	379,099
		Leecia Eve	3.5	52,367

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,507,857
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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

Republican primary for Attorney General of New York

Keith Wofford advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Keith Wofford

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Green primary election

Green primary for Attorney General of New York

Michael Sussman advanced from the Green primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Michael Sussman

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

Independence Party primary election

Independence Party primary for Attorney General of New York

Vincent Messina advanced from the Independence Party primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Vincent Messina

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

Reform Party primary election

Reform Party primary for Attorney General of New York

Nancy Sliwa defeated Michael Diederich Jr. and Christopher B. Garvey in the Reform Party primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Nancy Sliwa	52.8	14,864
	Submit photo	Michael Diederich Jr.	24.0	6,752
		Christopher B. Garvey	23.2	6,533

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,149
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

Working Families Party primary election

Working Families Party primary for Attorney General of New York

Kenneth Schaeffer advanced from the Working Families Party primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Kenneth Schaeffer

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

Reform Party primary election

Reform Party primary election

Reform Party primary for Attorney General of New York

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Nancy Sliwa	52.8	14,864
	Submit photo	Michael Diederich Jr.	24.0	6,752
		Christopher B. Garvey	23.2	6,533

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,149
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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

Congressional election

See also: New York's 1st Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as a race to watch. Incumbent Lee Zeldin (R) defeated Anna Throne-Holst (D) and Kenneth Schaeffer (Working Families) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Throne-Holst defeated Dave Calone in the Democratic primary, which remained uncalled for several weeks following the election. The primary elections took place on June 28, 2016.

U.S. House, New York District 1 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Lee Zeldin Incumbent	58.2%	188,499
	Democratic	Anna Throne-Holst	41.8%	135,278
Total Votes				323,777
Source: New York Board of Elections

U.S. House, New York, District 1 Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Anna Throne-Holst	51.3%	6,479
Dave Calone	48.7%	6,162
Total Votes		12,641
Source: New York State Board of Elections

New York Supreme Court election

See also: New York local trial court judicial elections, 2016

New York held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on September 13, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wish to run in this election was July 14, 2016. Mary Slisz and Daniel J. Furlong defeated Lynn Wessel Keane, Grace Hanlon, and Kenneth D. Schaeffer in the general election for two open seats on the New York Supreme Court 8th Judicial District.

New York 8th District Supreme Court, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican, Conservative	Mary Slisz	25.60%	281,710
	Republican, Conservative	Daniel J. Furlong	24.64%	271,144
	Democratic, Independence	Lynn Wessel Keane	23.74%	261,207
	Democratic, Working Families, Independence	Grace Hanlon	23.60%	259,713
	Working Families	Kenneth D. Schaeffer	2.35%	25,810
		Write-in votes	0.07%	748
Total Votes				1,100,332
Source: New York State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 9, 2016

2014

Congressional election

See also: New York's 13th Congressional District elections, 2014

Schaeffer ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent New York's 13th District. Schaeffer ran unopposed for the Working Families Party nomination in the primary on June 24, 2014, but was taken off of the ballot prior to the general election on November 4, 2014.

U.S. House, New York District 13 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Charles Rangel Incumbent	87.3%	68,396
	Green	Daniel Vila Rivera	12.5%	9,806
	N/A	Write-in votes	0.2%	151
Total Votes				78,353
Source: New York State Board of Elections, NYS Board of Elections Rep. in Congress Election Returns November 4, 2014," accessed August 30, 2021

New York Supreme Court election

Schaeffer ran for election to the Supreme Court, 2nd District in 2014.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kenneth Schaeffer did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

New York courts

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Federal courts:

Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York

State courts:

New York Court of Appeals • New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division • New York Supreme Court • New York County Courts • New York City Courts • New York Town and Village Courts • New York Family Courts • New York Surrogates' Courts • New York City Civil Court • New York City Criminal Courts • New York Court of Claims • New York Problem Solving Courts

State resources:

Courts in New York • New York judicial elections • Judicial selection in New York