Local State Legislature Races See Big Wins, Small Wins, Upset and Unopposed

All 150 seats in the State Assembly and 63 State Senate seats were up for election in this cycle, and Western New York saw a wide variety of results.

In the State Senate just two of Western New York’s five seats were opposed, and Democrats won both races. Senator Sean Ryan pulled in 61% or 85,530 votes, and was victorious against Republican Christine Czarnik and retained his seat in the 61st Senate District.

Democrat April Baskin won the race for the 63rd Senate District against Republican Jack Moretti. In her victory speech at Erie County Democratic Headquarters, Baskin linked her win with the legacy of late U.S. Congresswoman, Shirley Chisolm.

“56 years ago, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman to ever serve in the United States Congress on this exact day," told a jubilant crowd at Erie County Democratic headquarters Tuesday night. "And today I stand before you as the first Black woman from Buffalo, NY to ever go and serve our region in the New York State Senate”

Republicans Robert Ortt of the 62nd Senate district, George Borello of the 57th district and Patrick Gallivan of the 60th District all ran unopposed and retained their state senate seats.

While Gallivan cruised to a victory, he expressed frustration to party politics.

“My thought is that what we've seen in recent years is polarization," said Gallivan, the former Erie County Sheriff and state trooper. "And more people involved in politics are paying attention to their red uniform or their blue uniform, instead of the serving the public uniform, which is why I got into it.”

State Assembly races also saw it's fair share of unopposed races. Democrats Bill Conrad, Crystal Peoples-Stokes, and Jon Rivera all ran unopposed in their districts that contain parts of Buffalo and outlying suburbs.

Republicans were able to hold onto assembly seats in numerous districts of strength. David DiPietro and Angelo Morinello both won re-election by wide margins. There were also Republican-held seats that had no incumbent running due to retirement or seeking other office, and those were retained by GOP-backed candidates.

The biggest upset of the night was Republican Patrick Chludzinski's defeat of incumbent Democrat Monica Wallace in the 143rd Assembly District, which covers Cheektowaga, Lancaster, and parts of Buffalo. The night ended 52%-48% Chludzinski. Both campaigns spent a lot of money on political ads, and Chludzinski used Cheektowaga's rising migrant population as an attack on Wallace.

Chludzinski also made his experience as a Cheektowaga police officer a center of his campaign, the 'law and order' talk seen by Republicans up and down the ballot.

“Basically the tipping point was, again, working at the police department. You saw how the reform changes to the New York State criminal justice system had impacted our community," said Chludzinski following his victory. "That would be probably the biggest reason, where you see how that has affected our community in a negative way. And you know, we need to work to scale that back and get back to a normalcy that I think our citizens expect and deserve.”

In a statement, Wallace highlighted the work she has done since taking office in 2017, including improvements to local recreation facilities, raising minimum wage, and infrastructure projects. She wished her opponent luck, and also thanked supporters.

"While we didn’t get the result we wanted, I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved together," Wallace said in part in a written statement. "I especially want to thank my staff members who worked tirelessly for this community throughout my time in office. Their dedication is truly inspiring, and I wish them the very best as they close this chapter and begin a new one.”

Among those who had been watching Wallace's race closely was Democrat Karen McMahon, who was also up for re-election.

"I'm watching my colleague, Monica Wallace. She's my assembly bestie, and I'm really watching that one," McMahon said on election night.

Unlike Wallace, McMahon will be returning to the assembly after defeating Republican Deborah Kilbourn in the race for the 146th Assembly District. This district includes the Town of Amherst and the Village of Williamsville. McMahon was first elected to the seat in 2018.

In the 142nd Assembly District, incumbent Democrat Pat Burke held onto his seat, but by fewer than 800 votes against first-time political candidate Marc Priore, another law enforcement officer endorsed by Republicans.

"I was never nervous. I mean I believe in what I'm doing and I really leave it up to the people in my district," said Burke. "So if they chose not to re-elect me, like, I can also accept that. I guess I don't internalize this where I take it personally. I think I do a very good job for my constituents."

Burke also said his re-election means he can continue his efforts on a bill designed to help those seeking mental health treatment with psychedelics.

“One of the reasons I ran again is I have really important legislation I'm trying to get done. So the therapeutic psilocybin bill that I carry, I need to get done in this next session," he said. "We were so close in the last one, and it will be transformative people dealing with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, it's everywhere in our community. So to be able to address that in a really meaningful way is something I want to get done.”

From a statewide perspective, Democrats will retain their super majority in the senate, but it's still unclear as of Wednesday if they will also retain it in the Assembly. A super majority is when a party in a legislative body holds more than 2/3rd of seats, and control non-simple majority votes and can override a governor's veto.

This article was originally published on WBFO.