Rich Funke
Rich Funke (Republican Party) was a member of the New York State Senate, representing District 55. He assumed office on January 1, 2015. He left office on January 1, 2021.
Funke (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the New York State Senate to represent District 55. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Funke was assigned to the following committees:
- Energy and Telecommunications Committee
- Senate Cities Committee
- Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Committee, Vice chair
- Civil Service and Pensions Committee, Vice chair
- Elections Committee, Vice chair
- Senate Labor 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 |
| • Agriculture |
| • Cities |
| • Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business |
| • Consumer Protection |
| • Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation, Chair |
| • Environmental Conservation |
| • Higher Education |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Funke served on the following committees:
| New York committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Aging |
| • Cities |
| • Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business |
| • Consumer Protection |
| • Elections, Chair |
| • Environmental Conservation |
| • Higher Education |
Elections
2020
- See also: New York State Senate elections, 2020
Rich Funke did not file to run for re-election.
2018
- See also: New York State Senate elections, 2018
Funke also ran in the 2018 election as a Conservative Party, Independence Party, and Reform Party candidate.
General election
General election for New York State Senate District 55
Incumbent Rich Funke defeated Jennifer Lunsford in the general election for New York State Senate District 55 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rich Funke (R) | 51.9 | 66,279 |
 | Jennifer Lunsford (D) | 48.1 | 61,407 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 38 | ||
| Total votes: 127,724 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New York State Senate District 55
Jennifer Lunsford advanced from the Democratic primary for New York State Senate District 55 on September 13, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Lunsford |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for New York State Senate District 55
Incumbent Rich Funke advanced from the Republican primary for New York State Senate District 55 on September 13, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Rich Funke |
| ||||
| = 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
- See also: New York State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the New York State Senate 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.
Incumbent Rich Funke ran unopposed in the New York State Senate District 55 general election.[1][2]
| New York State Senate, District 55 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  Rich Funke Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: New York Board of Elections | ||
Incumbent Rich Funke ran unopposed in the New York State Senate District 55 Republican primary.[3][4]
| New York State Senate, District 55 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Rich Funke Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Funke also ran on the Conservative, Independence, and Reform Party tickets.
2014
- See also: New York State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the New York State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election took place November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 10, 2014. Incumbent Ted O'Brien was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Rich Funke was unopposed in the Republican primary. O'Brien ran on the Working Families Party ticket and Funke ran on the Conservative Party, SCC-Stop Common Core and Independence Party of New York State tickets. O'Brien was defeated by Funke in the general election.[5][6][7]
The New York State Senate was a battleground chamber that Ballotpedia identified as having the opportunity to switch partisan control in 2014. The New York Senate had a difference in partisan balance between Democrats and Republican of three seats, or 4.8 percent of the chamber. District 55 in the Senate has been identified by Ballotpedia, Democrat & Chronicle and Lohud.com as a battleground district that could determine control of the New York State Senate. Incumbent Ted O'Brien (D) was defeated by Rich Funke (R) in the general election.[8] In 2012, O'Brien won an open seat with a margin of victory of 4 percent. A Siena College poll in October showed O'Brien struggling against Funke.[9] The poll showed Funke leading O'Brien, 57 percent to 32 percent. Funke is well known for his 30-year career as a TV reporter and anchor. O'Brien argued that the public knew Funke because of his television career, but not where he stood on the issues. Campaign finance reports filed in early October showed that Senate Republicans spent $171,000 on Funke's campaign.[10] O'Brien was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), while Funke was endorsed by the New York chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors.[11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rich Funke |
57.8% | 54,874 | |
| Democratic | Ted O'Brien Incumbent | 40.7% | 38,624 | |
| None | Blank | 1.3% | 1,272 | |
| None | Void | 0.1% | 139 | |
| None | Scattering | 0.1% | 80 | |
| Total Votes | 94,989 | |||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2014
Funke's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[13]
- Excerpt: "To fight for “real” tax relief, that makes this community a more affordable place to live and raise a family. Not the kind that comes at the expense of our school districts."
- Excerpt: "To fight for real long-term, economic growth for small businesses and manufacturers who are burdened by hundreds of thousands of needless regulations."
- Excerpt: "To fight for an equal share of state aid for projects to revitalize our region. Projects that make our community a place where those willing to work hard can land secure jobs that provide a prosperous future."
- Excerpt: "And to put an end – once and for all – to the unfunded state mandates that have overburdened taxpayers."
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 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.
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 the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard 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 to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the New York State Legislature was in session from January 8 to December 31.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the New 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 202nd New 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 202nd New 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 201st New 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 201st New York State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 7 through June 25.
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See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Official campaign website
- Rich Funke on Facebook
- Rich Funke on Twitter
- Rich Funke on YouTube
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- New York State Senate
- Campaign contributions via Follow the Money
Footnotes
- ↑ 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 Senate Election Returns November 4, 2014," accessed December 17, 2014
- ↑ lohud.com, "Hudson Valley Senate races will shape New York's future," accessed October 24, 2014
- ↑ Democrat & Chronicle, "A few Senate races will shape NY’s agenda," accessed October 24, 2014
- ↑ Democrat & Chronicle, "RBA backs Democratic Sen. O'Brien," accessed October 24, 2014
- ↑ Democrat & Chronicle, "Schumer endorses O'Brien; builders back Funke," accessed October 24, 2014
- ↑ Democrat & Chronicle, "Cuomo endorses O'Brien for state Senate," accessed October 24, 2014
- ↑ Rich Funke for Senate, "Main page," accessed October 8, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ted O'Brien (D) |
New York State Senate, District 55 2015-2021 |
Succeeded by Samra Brouk (D) |
