| Election Name: | 2020 New York State Senate election |
| Turnout: | 57.72% |
| Popular Vote1: | 4,379,045 |
| Leader1: | Andrea Stewart-Cousins |
| Party1: | New York Democratic Party |
| Leaders Seat1: | 35th District |
| Seats Before1: | 40 |
| Seats1: | 43 |
| Seat Change1: | 3 |
| Percentage1: | 55.96% |
| Swing1: | 0.02% |
| Swing2: | 0.77% |
| Majority Leader | |
| Before Election: | Andrea Stewart-Cousins |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Andrea Stewart-Cousins |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 2,661,869 |
| Country: | New York |
| Seats For Election: | All 63 seats in the New York State Senate |
| Flag Image: | Flag of New York (1909–2020).svg |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2018 New York State Senate election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2022 New York State Senate election |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
| Majority Seats: | 32 |
| Percentage2: | 34.02% |
| Election Date: | November 3, 2020 |
| Leader2: | Rob Ortt |
| Party2: | New York Republican Party |
| Leaders Seat2: | 62nd District |
| Seats Before2: | 23 |
| Seats2: | 20 |
| Seat Change2: | 3 |
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.
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 they acquired a 2/3 supermajority.[4]
See main article: 2018 New York State Senate election. By 2018, the State Senate was the last Republican-controlled body in the New York government.[5] In the 2018 elections, Democrats gained eight Senate seats, taking control of the chamber from the Republicans.[6] Previously, Republicans had controlled the Senate for all but three years since World War II,[7] and the Democrats' largest share of New York State Senate seats since 1912.[8] 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]
The results of the 2020 Senate elections were certified on December 3, 2020. Democrats won a total of 43 seats, while Republicans won 20.[20] Republican Alexis Weik defeated Democratic incumbent Monica Martinez in the 3rd district,[21] and Republican Mike Martucci defeated Democratic incumbent Jen Metzger in the 42nd district.[18] Democrats Michelle Hinchey,[22] John Mannion,[23] Samra Brouk,[24] Jeremy Cooney,[25] and Sean Ryan[26] won open seats that had previously been held by Republicans.
| 2020 New York State Senate election results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | % +/– | Seats | Seats +/– | ||
| Democratic | 4,379,045 | 55.96% | 0.02% | 43 | 3 | ||
| Republican | 2,661,869 | 34.02% | 0.77% | 20 | 0 | ||
| Conservative | 331,602 | 4.24% | 0.14% | ||||
| Working Families | 308,013 | 3.94% | 1.46% | ||||
| Independence | 108,139 | 1.38% | 1.31% | ||||
| Libertarian | 20,860 | 0.27% | 0.27% | ||||
| SAM | 4,650 | 0.06% | 0.06% | ||||
| Green | 3,111 | 0.04% | 0.14% | ||||
| Total votes | 7,824,767 | 100.00% | |||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 13,555,547[27] | 57.72% | |||||
Bold represents a flip and italics represent a new senator of the same party.
Districts where the margin of victory was under 10%:
| align=center | District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46 • District 47 • District 48 • District 49 • District 50 • District 51 • District 52 • District 53 • District 54 • District 55 • District 56 • District 57 • District 58 • District 59 • District 60 • District 61 • District 62 • District 63 |