Senator Cathy Young and Assemblyman Andy Goodell
ALBANY – The two Republican incumbents representing Chautauqua County in the New York State Legislature easily won reelection, but Democrats had big victories in all areas of state government, including taking control of the State Senate.
Republican Incumbent Andy Goodell won a fifth term in the State Assembly, cruising to a 69 to 31 percent victory over Democratic Challenger Judith Einach. Goodell claimed 28,133 votes on Election Day to Einoch’s 12,621. The 150th assembly district includes all of and only Chautauqua County.
Meanwhile, Sen. Cathy Young ran unopposed for her eighth term in office, picking up 76,000 votes across the the 57th senate district.
While local Republicans enjoyed victory, Democrats were celebrating across the state with a sweep of all major statewide offices. Andrew Cuomo and comptroller Thomas DiNapoli were both re-elected to their third term in office, while U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was also easily re-elected to her second full term. And New York State has its first elected female and African American Attorney General. NYC advocate Letitia “Tish” James will become New York’s first black woman, and first African-American, to hold the office of state attorney general after a landslide victory on Tuesday, winning more than 65 percent percent of the vote.
Cuomo, meanwhile, coasted to re-election as he defeated four other candidates, including Republican Marc Molinaro, in his bid for a third term in office. Cuomo said President Donald Trump’s unpopularity in the state was a driving factor. In his victory speech, Cuomo said The president defrauded this nation when he said he was for the middle class and then turned around and gave a tax break to millionaires. The governor added that New York has made clear that the people of the state are not buying what President Trump is selling.
Gillibrand defeated Chele Farley, but the Democratic party was unable to gain any seats in the Senate. The most high profile race on Tuesday saw Senator Ted Cruz being re-elected in Texas over the Democratic rising star Beto O’Rourke, all but ensuring Republicans will keep Senate control.
It was a different story for the New York State Senate, which will flip from Republican to Democratic Control in January. If Democrats can hold the Senate in 2020, they will be the party solely responsible for redrawing Congressional district lines.
Also worth noting is that Chautauqua County’s representative in the state senate will lose a key position. Sen. Young, a Republican, will have to give up her spot as the chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
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