The 2020 New York State Senate elections were held on November 3, 2020, to elect representatives from all 63 State Senate districts across the U.S. state of New York.[1]Primary elections were held on June 23, 2020.[2]
Prior to the 2020 elections, Democrats held 40 seats in the State Senate, while Republicans held 20 seats and three other seats were vacant.[3] In 2018, Democrats won their greatest share of New York State Senate seats since 1912.[4]
Senate Democrats increased their majority by three seats, flipping five seats from Republican to Democrat while Republicans flipped two seats from Democrat to Republican. This gave Democrats their largest seat share in history, and acquired a 2/3 supermajority.[5]
By 2018, the State Senate was the last Republican-controlled body in the New York government.[6] In the 2018 elections, Democrats gained eight Senate seats, taking control of the chamber from the Republicans.[7] Previously, Republicans had controlled the Senate for all but three years since World War II,[8] and the Democrats' largest share of New York State Senate seats since 1912.[4] At the beginning of the 2019-2020 legislative session, the Senate Democratic Conference held 39 of the chamber's 63 seats.[9] In July 2019, Simcha Felder — who had caucused with the Republicans during their time in the majority — was accepted into the Senate Democratic Conference, giving the Conference a total of 40 members.[10]
During the 2019-2020 session, Republican Bob Antonacci resigned his seat to become a trial court judge; also, eight other members of the Senate Republican Conference announced that they would not seek re-election in 2020.[11] In June, one of those eight Senate Republicans, Senate Minority Leader John J. Flanagan, announced that he would resign from the Senate to take another position.[12][13] On July 20, 2020, Republican Sen. Chris Jacobs stepped down after being elected to the United States House of Representatives.[14]
Before the 2020 elections, Democrats held 40 seats in the State Senate. Republicans held 20 seats, and three other seats were vacant.[3]
Following the 2020 elections, the New York State Board of Elections noted that county boards of elections "received a historically high number of absentee ballots for the November 3rd 2020 General Election due to the coronavirus pandemic", and added that "unofficial election night results do not include the results of absentee ballot voting".[16] On Election Day, preliminary results showed Republicans leading in most competitive State Senate races.[17] However, absentee ballots trended in favor of the Democrats.[18]
On November 23, 2020, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins asserted that Senate Democrats would enter 2021 with "a supermajority of at least 42 members", giving the party an "unprecedented share" of power in the state Legislature. According to Politico, "the numbers mean that Democratic legislators now have the two-thirds needed in each house to override any vetoes from Gov. Andrew Cuomo without relying on Republican support".[19]
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