Senate Republican Leader John Flanagan will not seek re-election to the State Senate, he announced this week, making him the latest in a series of exits by Republicans from the upper chamber going into this year’s elections.
Flanagan was chosen as the Republican leader in the Senate in 2015 after former Sen. Dean Skelos was stripped of the title amidst federal corruption charges.
He spent three years as the majority leader in the State Senate, while Republicans still had control of the chamber. He remained the Republican leader after the party lost control of the State Senate in the 2018 elections.
“The opportunity to serve the public for virtually all of my adult life has enriched every aspect of my life, and so it is a with a heavy but extremely proud heart that I announce today that I will not be seeking re-election to the New York State Senate,” Flanagan said this week.
His decision will leave a total of 10 seats left vacant by Republicans heading into this year’s elections. Democrats have a strong hold on the chamber now, and have indicated that they would like to build a veto-proof majority in the 2020 elections.
Flanagan said this week that he’ll spend his final months in the Senate pushing back against that goal.
“I fully intend to apply the same diligence and work ethic as the Leader of our Republican Conference as I have since I was first elected Leader in 2015,” Flanagan said. “We have recruited top-tier candidates in races all across the State, and ensured our Conference has the right messaging to succeed.”
