NY Senate Still Tied As GOP Wins US House

By Alex Alper and Miranda Neubauer

As the U.S. House went Republican on Election Day, most of New York appeared to remain solidly Democratic. Democrat Andrew Cuomo comfortably defeated Republican Carl Paladino for governor. Democrat Eric Schneiderman, locked in a hot race for Attorney General, came out ahead of Republican Dan Donovan late Tuesday night.

Yet the possibility of Democrats losing their majority in the New York State Senate remains. According to results through 11 a.m., the State Senate seems split between Democrats and Republicans. 31-31. Votes are still being counted in Nassau Country, Westchester County, and Buffalo.

In U.S. Senate races, the suspense was over by 9:30 pm. The Associated Press called Democratic Senator Charles Schumer’s comfortable victory over Jay Townsend, with 63 percent to Townsend’s 35 percent. Senator Kirsten Gilibrand defeated Joseph DioGuardi with similar margins, with 15 percent of precincts reporting.

Gilibrand faced voters for the first time since Governor David Paterson appointed her in January 2009 to replace former Senator Hillary Clinton. She will remain in office until 2012, when Clinton’s term would have expired.

In Brooklyn congressional races, Democrats won handily. Nydia Velázquez, in the 12th congressional district, defeated Conservative Alice Gaffney. Nevertheless, the projected Republican takeover of the House punctured Velázquez’s win. The change in party control means that Velazquez will lose the chairmanship of the House Small Business Committee. Velázquez has represented Bushwick, Greenpoint, Red Hook, East New York, Brooklyn Heights, Sunset Park and Williamsburg since 1993.

Similarly, while Jerrold Nadler (D) from Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Bay Ridge retained his seat against opponent Susan Kone (R), he stands to lose his seniority on the House Judiciary and House Transportation Committee.

Edolphus Towns, representing the tenth congressional district, defeated Republican Diana Muniz. Despite his win, Towns will have to give up his chairmanship of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he has held since 2009. The district comprises Fort Greene, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Cypress Hills, East New York and Canarsie.

The democratic sweep through Brooklyn was not complete. Tea Party-backed challenger Michael Grimm defeated one term incumbent Democrat Michael McMahon in the city’s closest U.S. Congressional race. Grimm, a former Marine and FBI officer, faced off against McMahon, a freshman Democrat who represents Staten Island and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, traditionally a Republican-leaning district.

Although the race for comptroller was in a dead heat throughout the evening, Republican Harry Wilson was defeated by Thomas DiNapoli, with 96 percent of the precincts reporting.

Paladino, a 64-year-old developer and political novice, made some major missteps during the campaign, which turned the spotlight away from the economy and helped assure Cuomo’s victory. The combative millionaire said children shouldn’t be “brainwashed“ into thinking homosexuality was acceptable, got into a shouting match with a reporter, and hinted that Cuomo had an extra-marital affair which later proved false.