New York voters on Tuesday approved a new constitutional amendment, mainly kept their state legislative incumbents and provided a sort of mixed bag for both major political parties whose response to this year’s election results will be crucial in the years to come.
Here are a few takeaways from the 2024 election results.
Democrats topple some 2022 GOP gains in the House
Just like the state defied the national environment two years ago in losing several Democratic-held congressional seats while national Democrats largely held their own, Democrats netted several House seats while the GOP made congressional gains across the country.
As of Wednesday morning, Democrats flipped at least two House seats, with John Mannion unseating Rep. Brandon Williams in New York's 22nd Congressional District and Josh Riley unseating Rep. Marc Molinaro in the 19th District. In addition, Democrat Laura Gillen currently leads Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in Long Island's 4th Congressional District, though that race remains too close to call.
Democrats also held Rep. Pat Ryan’s seat in the Hudson Valley's 18th District and Rep. Tom Suozzi's 3rd District, which the party flipped earlier this year in the special election to replace former Rep. George Santos.
While control of the chamber at large has yet to be determined, two New Yorkers will likely continue having prominent roles in Washington’s lower house — Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who has served as minority leader since 2023 and Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has served as chair of the House GOP Conference since 2021.
A Democrat seeing a demotion comes on the other side of Capitol Hill, where New York’s Chuck Schumer will lose the position of Senate majority leader after Republicans gained control of that chamber.
Republicans make New York look redder
While Republicans lost those House seats and Mike Sapraicone lost the U.S. Senate race, the GOP made some historic noteworthy gains on the state level which Democrats have dominated in for more than a generation.
In the presidential race, Kamala Harris carried the state as every Democratic presidential nominee has since 1988, but by a margin significantly lower than in the past, garnering only 55% of the vote, an 11-point win over Donald Trump. Joe Biden won the state by 23 points four years ago. It’s the worst statewide performance for a Democrat, in terms of vote margin, since Michael Dukakis in 1988.
Trump is also the first Republican since George W. Bush in 2004 to get over 40% of the vote and vastly improved his margins in New York City and on Long Island, the latter of which has turned into a Republican fortress the last few years.
It’s not just the presidential race, however. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand won reelection to a third full term, but with only 58% of the vote. It’s the first time in her Senate career that she did not garner 60% or higher. In addition, her opponent, Mike Sapraicone, is the first Republican U.S. Senate candidate in New York to win more than 3 million raw votes since Al D’Amato in 1992.
This comes two years after Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul won a full term of her own in the closest gubernatorial election in 28 years.
Proposition 1 passes overwhelmingly
While Democratic statewide candidates didn’t crack 60% of the vote, Proposition 1, the lone statewide ballot measure this year, did.
Also known as the “Equal Rights Amendment,” it passed 62-38%. It amends Article 1 Section 11 of the state Constitution — which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, creed and religion — to include additional protections against discrimination based on ethnicity, origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy.
The measure was crafted by the Democratic-led Legislature as a result of the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning of Roe. v. Wade, but critics of the amendment argued that it could undermine parental rights and allow migrants to vote, among other issues, based on the proposal’s vague language.
Like the state’s “green amendment” in 2021, which makes clean air, clean water and a healthy environment a constitutionally protected right, the courts will spend the next few years interpreting the amendment’s boundaries because of that vague language.
Democrats keep majorities in state Legislature, with Senate supermajority still in question
Despite Republicans chipping away at Democratic margins in the state, Democrats will maintain their strong control of unified government in Albany.
Democrats have kept their majority in the state Assembly since 1975 and took control of the state Senate in 2019.
Whether Democrats keep their supermajority in the state Senate, which they first won in 2020, is another question.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press has called 38 Democratic victories in the chamber. They need 42 to keep a supermajority. Holding onto a supermajority of two-thirds of each chamber enables lawmakers to reject a potential veto by the governor, tipping the balance of power in Albany in favor of the two chambers.
Republicans did pick up a seat in Brooklyn, with Steven Chan ousting state Sen. Iwen Chu.
Another consequential outcome will be in Central New York’s 50th state Senate District, where Democrat Chris Ryan leads Republican Nick Paro by just 548 votes. The seat was vacated by John Mannion who won election to Congress.
The seat has seen extremely close contests the last few years. Mannion’s first election in 2020 wasn’t called until Nov. 30 and in 2022 he won by just 10 votes.
Results and response are high stakes for Hochul
With this year’s elections out of the way, it means the 2026 race for governor and other statewide offices has begun.
Gov. Hochul faced criticism from some Democratic Party leaders, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for the party’s poor showing in the 2022 elections and her own aforementioned weak gubernatorial win. Coupled with her record low favorability ratings this year and low marks on issues top of voters’ minds — cost of living, the migrant crisis, crime and bail reform — she could face serious headwinds going into the next election from both sides of the aisle.
That is why she made flipping those competitive House seats a priority this year, dispatching millions of state party dollars and volunteers to assist vulnerable candidates in an effort to change the narrative. She told Spectrum News 1 last week "this state party was nothing. It was in shambles, and I brought it to be a powerhouse."
Having secured those House wins, Hochul will now spend the second half of her elected term doing something her predecessor did — working with a Trump administration.
On Wednesday afternoon, Hochul congratulated the president-elect and said “if possible, we will work with his administration. But we will not compromise our values or our integrity or our principles.”
“New York will remain a bastion for freedom and rule of law,” she said.
Hochul also said Trump must repeal the SALT cap Republicans put in place in 2017 and back the economic development projects in the state spurred in part by the CHIPS and Science Act.
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