Politics of Upstate New York
Encyclopedia
The prevailing political ethos of the residents of Upstate New York
varies from that of their Downstate
fellows.
in culture and politics than found in the more urban downstate area, and is the power base of the state's Republican Party
. Upstate New York does however have several Democratic counties including Erie County
(Buffalo), Monroe County
(Rochester), Onondaga County
(Syracuse), Tompkins County
(Ithaca), Albany County
(Albany), Niagara County
(Niagara Falls), Broome County
(Binghamton), Clinton
(Plattsburgh), Franklin County
(Malone), St. Lawrence County
(Massena, Potsdam, Ogdensburg) and Ulster County
(Kingston, Woodstock, New Paltz).
As a whole, Upstate New York is roughly equally divided in Federal elections between Democrats and Republicans. In 2004, John Kerry
defeated George W. Bush
by less than 1,500 votes (1,553,246 votes to 1,551,971) in the Upstate Region.
The conservatism of the upstate region more closely resemble Rockefeller Republican
s, pro-business and pro-taxation but socially liberal Republicans who supported the policies of former Governor Nelson Rockefeller
. Others are libertarians
similarly to the conservatism of Vermont
, New Hampshire
and some western states
instead of the social conservatism
of the southern states
and the Religious Right
.
The influence of public service
labor unions is a factor in the Democratic Party's continued strength in the region. Hospitals and public schools are among the area's largest employers, and these agencies have unionized workers. Unionized workers as a whole make up 1 in 4 New York workers, the most in the nation. These unions, most notably the Service Employees International Union
and New York State United Teachers
, make large purchases of television air time on local television and radio stations during budget negotiations and prior to school budget votes to air commercials featuring scare tactics threatening the closure of hospitals or emergency rooms, larger class sizes, and reduced care if they don't receive more money. Organized rebuttals have been few and far between, although more frequent in recent years; Eliot Spitzer
's use of his personal campaign funds to push through his 2007 reforms was the first, more recent movements include Rochester businessman Tom Golisano
's Responsible New York campaign, and Buffalo developer Carl Paladino
's calls for a constitutional convention directly to address union-friendly laws such as the "Wicks Law" and the Taylor Law
.
Upstate politicians have sometimes taken the leading role in the moves that give the state its liberal reputation. It was George Michaels
, an assemblyman from the Finger Lakes
, who in 1970 asked that his vote of "no" on the bill to legalize abortion
in New York be changed to "yes," causing the bill to pass by one vote. Nearly three decades later, voters in Plattsburgh elected Daniel L. Stewart, the state's first openly gay
mayor
, a Republican. Another upstate mayor, Jason West
of New Paltz
, drew national attention in early 2004 when he officiated at the state's first gay weddings.
The Democratic Party in upstate cities, particularly in Buffalo, also has traditionally leaned further to the right than downstate Democrats. Jack Quinn
, a Republican, was elected from a district that was 57 percent Democratic. Similarly, leading Democrats in the area, including Dennis Gorski
, Anthony Masiello
and James D. Griffin, were noted for their fiscal and social conservatism and were often cross-endorsed by the Conservative Party of New York
. Other examples of moderate to conservative leaning Democrats include Michael McNulty, Scott Murphy
and Brian Higgins
.
One example of the ideological divide between upstate and downstate Democrats was the reaction to Governor David Paterson
's appointment of Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand
, who represented the New York's 20th District upstate, to the U.S. Senate. Downstate Democrats were skeptical of Gillibrand's positions on gun control
and immigration
, which while mainstream in Upstate New York, were to the right of positions of downstate Democratic activists such as Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy
. Paterson's appointment of Gillibrand was believed to be an effort to enhance his own chances in a general election by presenting a balanced ticket whch would appeal to moderates and Upstate voters. The last time that New York has had a senator of either party from upstate was Republican Charles E. Goodell in 1971; he was forced out by a more conservative downstate candidate (James Buckley
) on a third-party challenge.
Proponents of the 2008 presidential run by Sen. Hillary Clinton have pointed to her relative success upstate (she lost the region by less than 10 percent of the vote in 2000) as an argument that she could succeed as a candidate in red states
. Skeptics of such a bid have responded that upstate is not as conservative as what is now the leadership of the Republican Party. .
Most of New York State's most successful Republican politicians, however, such as Rockefeller, George Pataki
, Thomas Dewey
, Fiorello La Guardia, Jacob Javits and Alfonse D'Amato, came from the downstate region. Most upstate Republicans are politically unacceptable to even downstate Republican voters, and the party's financial backers are mostly based downstate. This was a key factor in forcing Buffalo politician Chris Collins out of a potential run for governor in 2010
.
Nevertheless, Republican attempts upstate to court votes by openly appealing to suspicion of New York City have usually backfired. In 1998 incumbent (and Long Island
native) Republican Senator Al D'Amato
's Senate campaign ran television ads in some upstate markets attempting to link his opponent, Charles Schumer
, to a flock of hungry shark
s released from New York City to fleece upstate. Schumer went on to win the election and did well in upstate areas.
But while politicians based upstate rarely win elections for governor or U.S. Senator, some have been elected to other lesser statewide offices, such as lieutenant governor
(Stan Lundine
, Maryanne Krupsak
and Mary Donohue
, for instance), comptroller
(Edward Regan) and attorney general (Dennis Vacco
).
The sharp differences in ideology have historically fueled many political struggles by upstate conservatives with largely downstate-based Democrats in the New York Legislature
; however the feuds quite often tend to be more on regional lines than on party lines. The most recent major examples were the failed attempt by Syracuse-area assemblyman Michael Bragman
, the majority leader
of that body to seize control of the downstate-dominated state Democratic party in 2000, which was immediately followed by a strong retaliatory backlash against all upstate politicians in state government and the attempt by both Republicans and Democrats to cater to upstate voters by promising to disband the New York State Thruway
, whose toll portions are entirely upstate. Both candidates in the 2006 gubernatorial election (Democrat Eliot Spitzer
and Republican John Faso
) pledged to eliminate the tolls. However, at the present time, only an eight mile stretch of I-190
in downtown Buffalo
, which had been collecting tolls to be used to keep I-84
downstate a free highway, has been made toll-free. In fact, the thruway authority has steadily increased tolls annually since 2006. Critics upstate feel that it is unlikely that either party would genuinely be willing to give up such a significant source of revenue, despite promises to the contrary, particularly one that does not draw its funding from the population core downstate.
While Republicans have traditionally controlled the State Senate by virtue of holding most seats upstate, the leadership has often been split between upstate senators such as Joseph Bruno
and Long Islanders such as the current leader, Dean Skelos
.
The 2008 state senate elections shifted political power in the chamber from the upstate-heavy Republicans to the New York City-centered Democrats. Skelos, a Long Island native, hatched a plan to lure four conservative New York City Democrats (known collectively as the "Gang of Four") to vote for Skelos as leader of the Senate in exchange for committee assignments, but the move backfired: the Democrats in question got the committee assignments (ahead of the upstate senators who were expected to get them) but instead turned and announced their support for Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith, as part of a deal ironically hatched by upstate politicians Steven Pigeon and Tom Golisano. As a result, several state Senate Republicans have considered reaching out to the five upstate Democrats (compared to 27 downstate Democrats) in the chamber to form a coalition, including Buffalo Democrat William Stachowski
, who would have earned a powerful committee leadership position had it not been for the Gang of Four deal. Stachowski and the others have so far rebuffed any suggestions they would break ranks. In an effort to retain the upstate Democrats, Smith nominated Syracuse senator David Valesky
as his second-in-command. Upstate Democrats such as Valesky, Stachowski and Darrel Aubertine
often face significant pressure from constituents and other upstate lawmakers to hold more conservative positions than their downstate counterparts.
In the congressional elections of 2006 and 2008, many upstate Congressional seats historically held by Republicans came under serious challenge by Democratic contenders, and some (such as the 20th
, 24th
and 29th
districts) were lost to Democrats, even with Republican voter enrollment advantages remaining in place. These seats went back to the Republicans in 2010. Slow population growth in the 1990s led legislators to eliminate two upstate House districts in the 2002 reapportionment and leave all downstate districts alone, hence, the influence of upstate in Congress has faded from the days in which Jack Kemp
, Barber Conable
, and Sam Stratton were prominent House leaders. Two more districts, at least one of which is certain to be upstate, will be eliminated in the 2012 reapportionment.
A growing movement exists among New York City residents to buy summer homes in upstate tourist communities and vote in elections there (where their vote would have more of an influence), a move that has drawn significant enmity from local residents.
Upstate New York showed an unusual amount of electoral strength when Buffalo's Carl Paladino
and Panama's Greg Edwards
defeated downstate candidates Rick Lazio
and Thomas Ognibene for the Republican nomination in the New York gubernatorial election, 2010
, thanks largely to overwhelming support upstate and in Western New York (as high as 93% for Paladino in his home county of Erie County). Each gubernatorial candidate had picked a candidate from the other side of the state as their running mate (Lazio with Edwards, Paladino with Ognibene), but voters were free to combine their own ticket a la carte
in the primary elections, resulting in native favorites winning both races. Paladino, in particular, completed a near-sweep of upstate counties while the downstate counties voted heavily for Lazio. Paladino and Edwards went on to lose the general election to downstate Democrat Andrew Cuomo
and his running mate, Rochester's Bob Duffy. Paladino and Edwards won the eight counties of the Buffalo media market (including their home counties), the rural counties in the Southern Tier, and two other rural counties upstate; Cuomo won the rest of the region in addition to a complete sweep of downstate New York.
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
varies from that of their Downstate
Downstate New York
Downstate New York is a term denoting the southeastern portion of New York State, United States, in contrast to Upstate New York. The term "Downstate New York" has significantly less currency than its counterpart term "Upstate New York", and the Downstate region is often not regarded as one...
fellows.
Voting patterns
Often attributed to the region's semi-rural character, there is more conservatismConservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
in culture and politics than found in the more urban downstate area, and is the power base of the state's Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Upstate New York does however have several Democratic counties including Erie County
Erie County, New York
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...
(Buffalo), Monroe County
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....
(Rochester), Onondaga County
Onondaga County, New York
Onondaga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 467,026. The county seat is Syracuse.Onondaga County is part of the Syracuse, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area....
(Syracuse), Tompkins County
Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and comprises the whole of the Ithaca metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564. The county seat is Ithaca, and the county is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community...
(Ithaca), Albany County
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
(Albany), Niagara County
Niagara County, New York
Niagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...
(Niagara Falls), Broome County
Broome County, New York
Broome County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,600. It was named in honor of John Broome, who was lieutenant governor in 1806 when Broome County was established. Its county seat is Binghamton, which is also its major city. The current...
(Binghamton), Clinton
Clinton County, New York
Clinton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 82,128. Its name is in honor of the first Governor of New York as a state, George Clinton. Its county seat is Plattsburgh.-History:...
(Plattsburgh), Franklin County
Franklin County, New York
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,599. It is named in honor of American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin...
(Malone), St. Lawrence County
St. Lawrence County, New York
St. Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 111,944. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Catholic saint on whose Feast day the river was discovered by...
(Massena, Potsdam, Ogdensburg) and Ulster County
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
(Kingston, Woodstock, New Paltz).
As a whole, Upstate New York is roughly equally divided in Federal elections between Democrats and Republicans. In 2004, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
defeated George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
by less than 1,500 votes (1,553,246 votes to 1,551,971) in the Upstate Region.
The conservatism of the upstate region more closely resemble Rockefeller Republican
Rockefeller Republican
Rockefeller Republican refers to a faction of the United States Republican Party who held moderate to liberal views similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller...
s, pro-business and pro-taxation but socially liberal Republicans who supported the policies of former Governor Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
. Others are libertarians
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
similarly to the conservatism of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and some western states
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
instead of the social conservatism
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
of the southern states
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and the Religious Right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
.
The influence of public service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
labor unions is a factor in the Democratic Party's continued strength in the region. Hospitals and public schools are among the area's largest employers, and these agencies have unionized workers. Unionized workers as a whole make up 1 in 4 New York workers, the most in the nation. These unions, most notably the Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union is a labor union representing about 1.8 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States , and Canada...
and New York State United Teachers
New York State United Teachers
New York State United Teachers is a 600,000-member New York state teachers union, affiliated since 2006 with the American Federation of Teachers , the AFL-CIO, and the National Education Association...
, make large purchases of television air time on local television and radio stations during budget negotiations and prior to school budget votes to air commercials featuring scare tactics threatening the closure of hospitals or emergency rooms, larger class sizes, and reduced care if they don't receive more money. Organized rebuttals have been few and far between, although more frequent in recent years; Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
's use of his personal campaign funds to push through his 2007 reforms was the first, more recent movements include Rochester businessman Tom Golisano
Tom Golisano
Blase Thomas Golisano is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Paychex, the second-largest payroll processor in the United States and former co-owner of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team and of the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team...
's Responsible New York campaign, and Buffalo developer Carl Paladino
Carl Paladino
Carl Pasquale Paladino is an American businessman and political activist from Buffalo, New York. Paladino is the founder and chairman of Ellicott Development Company, a real estate development company he founded in 1973. He was the 2010 Republican nominee for the New York gubernatorial election,...
's calls for a constitutional convention directly to address union-friendly laws such as the "Wicks Law" and the Taylor Law
Taylor Law
The Public Employees Fair Employment Act refers to Article 14 of the New York State Civil Service Law, which defines the rights and limitations of unions for public employees in New York....
.
Upstate politicians have sometimes taken the leading role in the moves that give the state its liberal reputation. It was George Michaels
George Michaels
George M. Michaels was an American Democratic Party politician from New York, who served in the New York State Assembly from 1961 to 1966 and 1969 to 1970, where he was best known for his changed vote that played a pivotal role in the passage of an expanded abortion rights law in New York...
, an assemblyman from the Finger Lakes
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
, who in 1970 asked that his vote of "no" on the bill to legalize abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
in New York be changed to "yes," causing the bill to pass by one vote. Nearly three decades later, voters in Plattsburgh elected Daniel L. Stewart, the state's first openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, a Republican. Another upstate mayor, Jason West
Jason West
Jason West is the mayor of the village of New Paltz, New York, having resumed the duties of office on June 1, 2011. He served previously as the village's mayor from January 1, 2003 to May 31, 2007....
of New Paltz
New Paltz (village), New York
New Paltz is a village in Ulster County in the U.S. state of New York. It is about north of New York City and south of Albany. The population was 6,818 at the 2010 census.The Village of New Paltz is located within the Town of New Paltz...
, drew national attention in early 2004 when he officiated at the state's first gay weddings.
The Democratic Party in upstate cities, particularly in Buffalo, also has traditionally leaned further to the right than downstate Democrats. Jack Quinn
Jack Quinn (politics)
John Francis "Jack" Quinn is the President of Erie Community College and a former politician from the State of New York. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives....
, a Republican, was elected from a district that was 57 percent Democratic. Similarly, leading Democrats in the area, including Dennis Gorski
Dennis Gorski
Dennis T. Gorski is a retired politician in New York and an ex-Marine. A resident of Cheektowaga, New York, Gorski is a former County Executive of Erie County, New York, which includes Buffalo, New York and many of its suburbs. He was the first Democrat elected Erie County Executive and the first...
, Anthony Masiello
Anthony Masiello
Anthony M. Masiello was mayor of Buffalo, New York from 1994 to 2005. Prior to being mayor, he served as a New York State Senator.-Personal and Educational Background:...
and James D. Griffin, were noted for their fiscal and social conservatism and were often cross-endorsed by the Conservative Party of New York
Conservative Party of New York
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party active in the state of New York. It is not part of any nationwide party, nor is it affiliated with the American Conservative Party, which it predates by over 40 years....
. Other examples of moderate to conservative leaning Democrats include Michael McNulty, Scott Murphy
Scott Murphy (politician)
Matthew Scott Murphy is an entrepreneur and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
and Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes the southern two-thirds of Buffalo proper, most of that city's eastern and southern suburbs, and all of Chautauqua County.-Early life, education and career:A native of...
.
One example of the ideological divide between upstate and downstate Democrats was the reaction to Governor David Paterson
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
's appointment of Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand is an attorney and the junior United States Senator from the state of New York and a member of the Democratic Party...
, who represented the New York's 20th District upstate, to the U.S. Senate. Downstate Democrats were skeptical of Gillibrand's positions on gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
and immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, which while mainstream in Upstate New York, were to the right of positions of downstate Democratic activists such as Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy
Carolyn McCarthy
Carolyn McCarthy is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in central Long Island in west-central Nassau County and includes Mineola, the Five Towns, East Rockaway, Rockville Centre, Oceanside, Garden City, Hempstead,...
. Paterson's appointment of Gillibrand was believed to be an effort to enhance his own chances in a general election by presenting a balanced ticket whch would appeal to moderates and Upstate voters. The last time that New York has had a senator of either party from upstate was Republican Charles E. Goodell in 1971; he was forced out by a more conservative downstate candidate (James Buckley
James L. Buckley
James Lane Buckley is a retired judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and previously served as a United States Senator from the state of New York as a member of the Conservative Party of New York from January 3, 1971 to January 3, 1977...
) on a third-party challenge.
Proponents of the 2008 presidential run by Sen. Hillary Clinton have pointed to her relative success upstate (she lost the region by less than 10 percent of the vote in 2000) as an argument that she could succeed as a candidate in red states
Red state vs. blue state divide
The terms red states and blue states came into use in 2000 to refer to those states of the United States whose residents predominantly vote for the Republican Party or Democratic Party presidential candidates, respectively. A blue state tends to vote for the Democratic Party, and a red state tends...
. Skeptics of such a bid have responded that upstate is not as conservative as what is now the leadership of the Republican Party. .
Most of New York State's most successful Republican politicians, however, such as Rockefeller, George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
, Thomas Dewey
Thomas Dewey
Thomas Edmund Dewey was the 47th Governor of New York . In 1944 and 1948, he was the Republican candidate for President, but lost both times. He led the liberal faction of the Republican Party, in which he fought conservative Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft...
, Fiorello La Guardia, Jacob Javits and Alfonse D'Amato, came from the downstate region. Most upstate Republicans are politically unacceptable to even downstate Republican voters, and the party's financial backers are mostly based downstate. This was a key factor in forcing Buffalo politician Chris Collins out of a potential run for governor in 2010
New York gubernatorial election, 2010
The New York gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor of New York, who will serve a four-year term to begin in January 2011. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as Lieutenant Governor in 2006 as the running mate of former Governor...
.
Nevertheless, Republican attempts upstate to court votes by openly appealing to suspicion of New York City have usually backfired. In 1998 incumbent (and Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
native) Republican Senator Al D'Amato
Al D'Amato
Alfonse Marcello "Al" D'Amato is an American lawyer and former New York politician. A Republican, he served as United States Senator from New York from 1981 to 1999.-Early life and family:...
's Senate campaign ran television ads in some upstate markets attempting to link his opponent, Charles Schumer
Charles Schumer
Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the senior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in 1998, he defeated three-term Republican incumbent Al D'Amato by a margin of 55%–44%. He was easily re-elected in 2004 by a margin of 71%–24% and in 2010 by a...
, to a flock of hungry shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s released from New York City to fleece upstate. Schumer went on to win the election and did well in upstate areas.
But while politicians based upstate rarely win elections for governor or U.S. Senator, some have been elected to other lesser statewide offices, such as lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of New York
The Lieutenant Governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of New York State. It is the second highest ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four year term...
(Stan Lundine
Stan Lundine
Stanley Nelson Lundine is a politician from Jamestown, New York who served as Mayor of Jamestown, a United States Representative, and lieutenant governor of New York. A Democrat, he was inaugurated Mayor in 1970 and served to 1976 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives after the...
, Maryanne Krupsak
Maryanne Krupsak
Mary Anne Krupsak is an American lawyer and politician from New York. She was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1975 to 1978.-Life:She is the daughter of Ambrose M. Krupczak and Mamie Krupczak...
and Mary Donohue
Mary Donohue
Mary O’Connor Donohue is a Judge of the New York Court of Claims and a former Lieutenant Governor of New York State. She was first elected lieutenant governor in 1998 and reelected 2002 on a ticket with Gov. George Pataki.-Teaching and legal career:...
, for instance), comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
(Edward Regan) and attorney general (Dennis Vacco
Dennis Vacco
Dennis C. Vacco is an American lawyer and politician. He graduated a B.A. from Colgate University in 1974, a J.D...
).
The sharp differences in ideology have historically fueled many political struggles by upstate conservatives with largely downstate-based Democrats in the New York Legislature
New York Legislature
The New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
; however the feuds quite often tend to be more on regional lines than on party lines. The most recent major examples were the failed attempt by Syracuse-area assemblyman Michael Bragman
Michael Bragman
Michael J. Bragman is a former member of the New York State Assembly. He lost his position as majority leader of that body in 2000, after leading a coup against Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver....
, the majority leader
Majority leader
In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.In the federal Congress, the role differs slightly in the two houses. In the House of Representatives, which chooses its own presiding officer, the leader of the majority party is elected the Speaker of the...
of that body to seize control of the downstate-dominated state Democratic party in 2000, which was immediately followed by a strong retaliatory backlash against all upstate politicians in state government and the attempt by both Republicans and Democrats to cater to upstate voters by promising to disband the New York State Thruway
New York State Thruway
The New York State Thruway is a system of limited-access highways located within the state of New York in the United States. The system, known officially as the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway for former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority and...
, whose toll portions are entirely upstate. Both candidates in the 2006 gubernatorial election (Democrat Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
and Republican John Faso
John Faso
John Faso was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York in 2006, and was defeated by Democratic nominee Eliot Spitzer in the largest defeat for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the state's history. This followed his loss to Alan Hevesi four years earlier in his run for State Comptroller...
) pledged to eliminate the tolls. However, at the present time, only an eight mile stretch of I-190
Interstate 190 (New York)
Interstate 190 runs 28.34 miles from Interstate 90 near Buffalo, New York to Lewiston, New York via Niagara Falls. Parts of this highway were built on the former rights-of-way of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Erie Canal. It is referred to by locals as The One-Ninety...
in downtown Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, which had been collecting tolls to be used to keep I-84
Interstate 84 (east)
Interstate 84 is an Interstate Highway extending from Dunmore, Pennsylvania at an interchange with Interstate 81 to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike . I-84 has mile-log junction numbering in Pennsylvania; otherwise, exit numbers are roughly sequential...
downstate a free highway, has been made toll-free. In fact, the thruway authority has steadily increased tolls annually since 2006. Critics upstate feel that it is unlikely that either party would genuinely be willing to give up such a significant source of revenue, despite promises to the contrary, particularly one that does not draw its funding from the population core downstate.
While Republicans have traditionally controlled the State Senate by virtue of holding most seats upstate, the leadership has often been split between upstate senators such as Joseph Bruno
Joseph Bruno
Joseph L. Bruno is an American businessman, and Republican politician. He was the Temporary President of the New York State Senate and its majority leader. Most recently he also served as Lieutenant Governor of New York ....
and Long Islanders such as the current leader, Dean Skelos
Dean Skelos
Dean G. Skelos is an American politician and the Republican Temporary President and Majority Leader of the New York State Senate. Skelos represents District 9 in the State Senate, which comprises the southwest region of Nassau County. He is the second Long Islander to hold the position of Majority...
.
The 2008 state senate elections shifted political power in the chamber from the upstate-heavy Republicans to the New York City-centered Democrats. Skelos, a Long Island native, hatched a plan to lure four conservative New York City Democrats (known collectively as the "Gang of Four") to vote for Skelos as leader of the Senate in exchange for committee assignments, but the move backfired: the Democrats in question got the committee assignments (ahead of the upstate senators who were expected to get them) but instead turned and announced their support for Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith, as part of a deal ironically hatched by upstate politicians Steven Pigeon and Tom Golisano. As a result, several state Senate Republicans have considered reaching out to the five upstate Democrats (compared to 27 downstate Democrats) in the chamber to form a coalition, including Buffalo Democrat William Stachowski
William Stachowski
William Stachowski was an American politician and a Democratic State Senator from the 58th district for the State of New York. He was first elected in 1981, but lost the renomination as a Democrat in the 2010 primary election...
, who would have earned a powerful committee leadership position had it not been for the Gang of Four deal. Stachowski and the others have so far rebuffed any suggestions they would break ranks. In an effort to retain the upstate Democrats, Smith nominated Syracuse senator David Valesky
David Valesky
David J. Valesky is a member of the New York State Senate and the Vice President Pro Tempore of the State Senate.He is a Democrat representing the mostly rural 49th Senate District, which encompasses the city of Rome in Oneida County, all of Madison County, eastern and southern Onondaga County,...
as his second-in-command. Upstate Democrats such as Valesky, Stachowski and Darrel Aubertine
Darrel Aubertine
Darrel J. Aubertine was a member of the New York State Senate for the 48th district, which covers Central New York and the North Country region counties of Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence in New York State. He is a registered Democrat and represented the district in the state Senate from...
often face significant pressure from constituents and other upstate lawmakers to hold more conservative positions than their downstate counterparts.
In the congressional elections of 2006 and 2008, many upstate Congressional seats historically held by Republicans came under serious challenge by Democratic contenders, and some (such as the 20th
New York's 20th congressional district
The 20th Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern New York. It includes all or parts of Columbia, Dutchess, Delaware, Essex, Greene, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties. It includes the...
, 24th
New York's 24th congressional district
The 24th Congressional District of New York includes all or parts of Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Oneida, Ontario, Otsego, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins counties.This district is currently represented by Republican Richard L...
and 29th
New York's 29th congressional district
The Twenty-ninth district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives which covers a portion of the Appalachian mountains in New York known as the "Southern Tier." It is represented by Tom Reed...
districts) were lost to Democrats, even with Republican voter enrollment advantages remaining in place. These seats went back to the Republicans in 2010. Slow population growth in the 1990s led legislators to eliminate two upstate House districts in the 2002 reapportionment and leave all downstate districts alone, hence, the influence of upstate in Congress has faded from the days in which Jack Kemp
Jack Kemp
Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
, Barber Conable
Barber Conable
Barber Benjamin Conable, Jr. was a U.S. Congressman from New York and president of the World Bank.-Biography:...
, and Sam Stratton were prominent House leaders. Two more districts, at least one of which is certain to be upstate, will be eliminated in the 2012 reapportionment.
A growing movement exists among New York City residents to buy summer homes in upstate tourist communities and vote in elections there (where their vote would have more of an influence), a move that has drawn significant enmity from local residents.
Upstate New York showed an unusual amount of electoral strength when Buffalo's Carl Paladino
Carl Paladino
Carl Pasquale Paladino is an American businessman and political activist from Buffalo, New York. Paladino is the founder and chairman of Ellicott Development Company, a real estate development company he founded in 1973. He was the 2010 Republican nominee for the New York gubernatorial election,...
and Panama's Greg Edwards
Greg Edwards
Gregory J. Edwards is the current county executive of Chautauqua County, New York. A registered Republican, Edwards served as an attorney and dairy farmer prior to his election in 2005...
defeated downstate candidates Rick Lazio
Rick Lazio
Enrico Anthony "Rick" Lazio is a former U.S. Representative from the state of New York. Lazio became well known nationally when he ran against Hillary Rodham Clinton for the U.S. Senate in New York's 2000 Senate election...
and Thomas Ognibene for the Republican nomination in the New York gubernatorial election, 2010
New York gubernatorial election, 2010
The New York gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor of New York, who will serve a four-year term to begin in January 2011. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as Lieutenant Governor in 2006 as the running mate of former Governor...
, thanks largely to overwhelming support upstate and in Western New York (as high as 93% for Paladino in his home county of Erie County). Each gubernatorial candidate had picked a candidate from the other side of the state as their running mate (Lazio with Edwards, Paladino with Ognibene), but voters were free to combine their own ticket a la carte
À la carte
À la carte is a French language loan phrase meaning "according to the menu", and used in* A reference to a menu of items priced and ordered separately, i.e. the usual operation of restaurants * To order an item from the menu on its own, e.g...
in the primary elections, resulting in native favorites winning both races. Paladino, in particular, completed a near-sweep of upstate counties while the downstate counties voted heavily for Lazio. Paladino and Edwards went on to lose the general election to downstate Democrat Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
and his running mate, Rochester's Bob Duffy. Paladino and Edwards won the eight counties of the Buffalo media market (including their home counties), the rural counties in the Southern Tier, and two other rural counties upstate; Cuomo won the rest of the region in addition to a complete sweep of downstate New York.
See also
- List of political figures of Upstate New York
- Politics of New YorkPolitics of New YorkThe Politics of New York State tend to be more liberal than in most of the United States, with in recent decades a solid majority of Democratic voters, concentrated in New York City and some of its suburbs, and in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany...
- New York State Legislature
- Secession in New York