Politics

Senate Republicans have gained one more member in the fight for control of the chamber. Newly elected Brooklyn Democrat Simcha Felder says he’ll sit with the GOP.

After the barrage of negative campaign ads, nightly robo calls, and daily mailers, most central New Yorkers are probably thinking, Whew!  Glad that’s over.  But the time after “the day after” has just begun.

Republican congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle stepped out of the federal office building in downtown Syracuse this afternoon, gave county party chair Tom Dadey a hug, and conceded the race for New York's 24th Congressional District to Democrat Dan Maffei.

The New York State Thruway Authority has scheduled a board meeting for Friday afternoon.  There is no public agenda yet, but it is believed that the board will consider a 45 percent increase in truck tolls.

Anti-fracking sentiment in the Southern Tier was felt at the polls when candidates opposed to drilling were beaten up and down the ballot Tuesday.

The vast majority of incumbent state legislators were re-elected Tuesday night, upholding a decades-long Albany tradition.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle indicated she is still not conceding her race to represent central New York's 24th congressional district, despite trailing by about 4 percent to Democrat Dan Maffei.

Democrats appear to have taken over the State Senate, by a narrow margin. Some races were still being tallied, and others may be headed to a recount.

Democrat Al Stirpe is once again a New York State Assemblyman after defeating Republican Don Miller for a seat that was once Stirpe's.

Democrat Bill Owens survived one of the most costly and bitter political campaigns in North Country history last night. He defeated Republican businessman Matt Doheny by about 4,000 votes.

Incumbent Republican state Senator Patty Ritchie easily won reelection in the 48th district, covering Jefferson, Oswego and St. Lawrence counties. She beat Democrat Amy Tresidder by a more than two-to-one margin. Now, Ritchie looks ahead to tackling the economic issues facing the state.