2012 New York State Senate election
The 2012 New York State Senate elections were held on November 6, 2012 to elect representatives from all 63 State Senate districts in the U.S. state of New York. Primary elections were held on September 13, 2012.
Democrats won a total of 33 seats for a three-seat majority. Democrats gained seats in Senate Districts 17, 41, and 55, and won the election in the newly created Senate District 46. In Senate District 46, Republican George Amedore was named the winner and was sworn in as a senator. However, a recount revealed that Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk had defeated Amedore by 18 votes; therefore, Amedore vacated the seat and Tkaczyk was sworn in.
Of the four Republican state senators who voted for the Marriage Equality Act in 2011, only Grisanti was re-elected in 2012.
On December 4, 2012, it was announced that Senate Republicans had reached a power-sharing deal with the four-member Independent Democratic Conference. Together, the Senate Republicans and the IDC held enough seats to form a governing majority. That majority was augmented when freshman Sen. Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, a Democrat, joined the Senate Republican Conference.
Retirements
- 4th District: Fifteen-term incumbent Republican Owen H. Johnson, 83, did not seek re-election. Assemblyman Philip Boyle was endorsed by the Republican, Conservative and Independence Parties. Boyle defeated Democrat Ricardo Montano.
- 29th District: Seven-term incumbent Democrat Thomas Duane did not seek re-election in this predominantly LGBT district; Brad Hoylman sought the seat and was elected without opposition.
- 37th District: 14-term Democratic senator Suzi Oppenheimer did not seek re-election. Democratic Assemblyman George S. Latimer defeated Republican Bob Cohen in November.
- 46th District: This newly created district stretches from Montgomery County south to Ulster County. Assemblyman George Amedore ran on the Republican line against Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk. On January 17, 2013, the final recount was certified, and Tkaczyk was declared the winner by 18 votes.
- 55th District: Incumbent Republican senator James Alesi announced that he would not seek re-election, citing concerns about his ability to prevail against a potential primary challenger following his controversial 2011 vote in favor of same-sex marriage. Monroe County Legislator Ted O'Brien ran as a Democrat, and Assemblyman Sean Hanna received the Republican nomination. O'Brien defeated Hanna.