With two Republican state senators retiring, the GOP could lose their slim majority in the New York State Senate on Tuesday. Senator John DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse) said he doesn’t want Democrats to lead the state Senate, as they did briefly in 2009 and 2010.
DeFrancisco said the Senate Republicans act as a “balance” between Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and a Democratic majority in the state assembly.
“I lived through two years of New York City Democrats controlling everything,” DeFrancisco said. “Upstate didn’t get road and bridge money, and downstate got an MTA, a relief for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that serves downstate.”
Over the past two months, DeFrancisco has transferred $91,400 from his campaign fundraising to the New York State Senate Committee.
“We’re all in it together,” DeFrancisco said of the Republican state senators that represent many Upstate districts. “We’re all going to try to help, either financially or with people to get out the vote.”
DeFrancisco goes into the election with no Democratic opposition and a $965,682.62 balance across two campaign accounts. He’ll face a third-party challenge from Green Party candidate, Michael Donnelly.