Politics of New York (state)

Politics of New York have evolved over time. The Democratic Party dominates politics in the state, with the Democrats representing a plurality of voters in New York State, constituting over twice as many registered voters as any other political party affiliation or lack thereof.<ref name="NYSRegisteredVoterAffiliation">NYSVoter Enrollment by County, Party Affiliation and Status Template:Webarchive Accessed April 30, 2016.</ref> It is considered one of the "Big Three" Democratic strongholds along with California and Illinois. Historically, New York was a swing state, as from its inaugural election in 1792 until the 1984 election, the state voted for the winning candidate all but seven times (1812, 1856, 1868, 1876, 1916, 1948, and 1968). It voted for the winning candidate 86% of the time; however, since 1988, the state has voted Democratic by large margins and frequently provides them over 60% of the vote.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Democrats have also controlled the Assembly since 1971 and the Senate since 2019. New York currently has two Democratic United States senators. New York's Class I Senate seat has been Democratic since 1959 and New York's Class III Senate seat has been Democratic since 1999. In addition, New York's House congressional delegation has had a Democratic majority since 1965.

Current issues

For a long time, same-sex marriages were not allowed in New York, but those marriages from other jurisdictions were recognized. In May 2008, Governor David Paterson issued an affirmation that the state would recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. In December 2009, the senate declined to pass a same-sex marriage bill, though polling earlier that year had indicated that a majority of New Yorkers supported same-sex marriages.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since 2004, the public pension systems of both the state and New York City allocate benefits in recognition of same-sex marriages performed outside New York. Former Governor Eliot Spitzer stated he would introduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. On April 27, 2007, then-Governor Spitzer unveiled such a bill. Same-sex marriage was legalized in June 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

From 1984 through 2004, no budget was passed on time. New York State has a long history of receiving less money than it sends to Washington. Due to pandemic aid from the federal government, New York received $1.06 on the dollar in 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The state ranks near the bottom, in 42nd place, in federal spending per tax dollar.

For decades, it has been the established practice for the state to pass legislation for some meritorious project, but then mandate county and municipal government to actually pay for it. New York State has its counties pay a higher percentage of welfare costs than any other state, and New York State is the only state which requires counties to pay a portion of Medicaid.Template:Citation needed

Gubernatorial election results<ref name="Leip, David">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Year	Democratic	Republican
Template:Party shading/Republican|1950	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 42.3% 2,246,855	Template:Party shading/Republican| 53.1% 2,819,523
Template:Party shading/Democratic|1954	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 49.6% 2,560,738	Template:Party shading/Republican| 49.4% 2,549,613
Template:Party shading/Republican|1958	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 44.7% 2,553,895	Template:Party shading/Republican| 54.7% 3,126,929
Template:Party shading/Republican|1962	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 44.0% 2,552,418	Template:Party shading/Republican| 53.1% 3,081,587
Template:Party shading/Republican|1966	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 38.1% 2,298,363	Template:Party shading/Republican| 44.6% 2,690,626
Template:Party shading/Republican|1970	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 40.3% 2,421,426	Template:Party shading/Republican| 52.4% 3,151,432
Template:Party shading/Democratic|1974	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 57.2% 3,028,503	Template:Party shading/Republican| 41.9% 2,219,667
Template:Party shading/Democratic|1978	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 51.0% 2,429,272	Template:Party shading/Republican| 45.2% 2,156,404
Template:Party shading/Democratic|1982	Template:Party shading/Democratic|50.9% 2,675,213	Template:Party shading/Republican| 47.5% 2,494,827
Template:Party shading/Democratic|1986	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 64.6% 2,775,045	Template:Party shading/Republican| 31.8% 1,363,968
Template:Party shading/Democratic|1990	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 53.2% 2,157,087	Template:Party shading/Republican| 21.4% 865,948
Template:Party shading/Republican|1994	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 45.5% 2,364,906	Template:Party shading/Republican| 48.8% 2,538,702
Template:Party shading/Republican|1998	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 33.2% 1,570,317	Template:Party shading/Republican| 54.3% 2,571,991
Template:Party shading/Republican|2002	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 33.5% 1,534,064	Template:Party shading/Republican| 49.4% 2,262,255
Template:Party shading/Democratic|2006	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 69.6% 3,086,709	Template:Party shading/Republican| 28.7% 1,274,335
Template:Party shading/Democratic|2010	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 62.5% 2,910,876	Template:Party shading/Republican| 33.2% 1,547,857
Template:Party shading/Democratic|2014	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 54.2% 2,069,480	Template:Party shading/Republican| 40.2% 1,537,077
Template:Party shading/Democratic|2018	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 59.6% 3,635,340	Template:Party shading/Republican| 36.2% 2,207,602
Template:Party shading/Democratic|2022	Template:Party shading/Democratic| 52.4% 3,031,801	Template:Party shading/Republican| 46.7% 2,705,908

Voter registration

Voter registration as of February 20, 2025:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation						CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Party		%	Total voters		Total
			Active	Inactive
Template:Party color cell	Democratic	47.90	5,896,984	403,434	6,300,418
Template:Party color cell	Republican	22.63	2,845,295	131,446	2,976,741
Template:Party color cell	ConservativeTemplate:Efn	1.27	160,125	7,107	167,232
Template:Party color cell	Working FamiliesTemplate:Efn	0.44	55,804	2,989	58,793
Template:Party color cell	Minor parties	2.72	336,758	21,480	358,238
Template:Party color cell	Unaffiliated	25.03	3,108,039	184,092	3,292,131
Total		100%	12,403,005	750,548	13,153,553

Federal representation

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Following each decennial census, the New York Redistricting Commission forms to redraw the state's congressional districts. New York currently has 26 House districts. In the 119th Congress, 19 of New York's seats are held by Democrats and 7 are held by Republicans:

• New York's 1st congressional district represented by Nick LaLota (R)
• New York's 2nd congressional district represented by Andrew Garbarino (R)
• New York's 3rd congressional district represented by Tom Suozzi (D)
• New York's 4th congressional district represented by Laura Gillen (D)
• New York's 5th congressional district represented by Gregory Meeks (D)
• New York's 6th congressional district represented by Grace Meng (D)
• New York's 7th congressional district represented by Nydia Velazquez (D)
• New York's 8th congressional district represented by Hakeem Jeffries (D)
• New York's 9th congressional district represented by Yvette Clarke (D)
• New York's 10th congressional district represented by Dan Goldman (D)
• New York's 11th congressional district represented by Nicole Malliotakis (R)
• New York's 12th congressional district represented by Jerry Nadler (D)
• New York's 13th congressional district represented by Adriano Espaillat (D)
• New York's 14th congressional district represented by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D)
• New York's 15th congressional district represented by Ritchie Torres (D)
• New York's 16th congressional district represented by George Latimer (D)
• New York's 17th congressional district represented by Mike Lawler (R)
• New York's 18th congressional district represented by Pat Ryan (D)
• New York's 19th congressional district represented by Josh Riley (D)
• New York's 20th congressional district represented by Paul Tonko (D)
• New York's 21st congressional district represented by Elise Stefanik (R)
• New York's 22nd congressional district represented by John Mannion (D)
• New York's 23rd congressional district represented by Nick Langworthy (R)
• New York's 24th congressional district represented by Claudia Tenney (R)
• New York's 25th congressional district represented by Joseph Morelle (D)
• New York's 26th congressional district represented by Tim Kennedy (D)

New York's two United States senators are Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, serving since 1999 and 2009, respectively.

New York is part of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and United States District Court for the Western District of New York in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the New York City-based United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Notable New York political figures

• Mario Cuomo, Governor of New York (1983-1994)
• Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of New York City (1994-2001)
• Deborah J. Glick, State Assemblymember (1991-)
• Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City (2002-2013)
• Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York (2011-2021)
• Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York (2021-)
• Zohran Mamdani, Mayor-elect of New York City (2026-)

• 
  Governor Mario Cuomo in 1987
• 
  Former mayor Rudy Guliani in 2008
• 
  Deborah Glick in 2006
• 
  Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2007
• 
  Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2017
• 
  Governor Kathy Hochul in 2021
• 
  Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in 2025

See also

• Government of New York (state)
• Elections in New York
• Electoral reform in New York
• 2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group

Topics

• Alcohol laws of New York
• Climate change policy of New York
• New York divorce law
• Gun laws in New York
• New York energy law
• LGBT rights in New York
• Capital punishment in New York
• Rent control in New York

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
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• Paterson, David "Black, Blind, & In Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity." Skyhorse Publishing. New York, New York, 2020.