NY Dems Likely to Keep Super-Majority, but Unexpected Republican Gains Could Impact Policy

By Yehudit Garmaise

New York Republicans flipped several seats in the state legislature and came within seven percentage points of winning the governor’s race, however, the Democrats in the “bluest of blue states,” as US Rep Lee Zeldin called NY, are likely to maintain the supermajority in both the state assembly and senate.

 While one party is said to have a “simple majority” or a “majority” when that party comprises more than 50% of the total seats in the legislature, when elected officials from one party comprise a number that is significantly higher than 51%, that party is said to comprise a “Super Majority.” 

 When legislatures have supermajorities, not only are their policies almost impossible to reshape, but their bills are veto-proof, meaning that the governor cannot veto them and send them back to the floor for more consideration. 

In Southern Brooklyn, Republicans unseated three Democratic Assembly incumbents, and on Long Island, Republicans flipped several more seats, however, despite some red inroads, Democrats probably will end up securing 102 seats, which is two more than they need for a supermajority.

Whether the state Senate also will attain a super-majority depends on the final results of one last Syracuse-area race between State Sen. John Mannion and his Republican challenger Rebecca Shiroff, the New York Post reported.

Even if the Dems maintain their supermajority, many Republicans remain optimistic about the gains they made in November.

“Any year that Republicans add to their conference totals is a good year,” GOP political consultant William O’Reilly said. “This is a chipping away process that will take time, and 2022 was a step in the right direction.” 

November’s very close races show that “something has changed,” a NY Republican political consultant told BoroPark24. “The Democrats from Albany got a wake-up call about their approach to crime after seeing how close the governor’s election was and watching several seats that were considered ‘safely-Democratic’ flip to Republicans.

“Even though the legislature will likely keep its supermajority, perhaps now the Democrats will see that many policies need to be changed, otherwise elections will continue to get closer, and the Democrats will lose more seats down the road.

“If crime goes up and problems are not resolved, then New Yorkers will continue to support Republicans in the voting booth.”

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