The New York Working Families Party polled 241,531 votes for U.S. Senate last month. This is the first time the party has ever exceeded the 200,000 vote barrier for a statewide office; the previous best showing for a statewide office for that party had been in 2010, when it polled 183,707 for U.S. Senate. The November 2012 U.S. Senate election is also the first time the Working Families Party has outpolled the Conservative Party in a statewide race.
The 2012 U.S. Senate nominee for the Working Families Party was also the Democratic nominee, Kirsten Gillibrand. The Conservative Party vote for U.S. Senate last month was 235,747; its nominee was the Republican nominee, Wendy Long.
The New York State Board of Elections posted the official vote tallies on December 11. Use this link to see the returns.
Considering the NY Working Families and Conservative parties are pseudo-independent of the Republicans and Democrats on a good day, I’d add this up to a footnote at best.
If they act like a real, independent-minded organization and run their own candidates with polling results like this, then there should be congratulations going their way.
@1 absolutely. With all of the fusion in NY politics, it’s rare to find high-level candidates in the WFP and the Conservatives that aren’t the same old GOP/Dem nominees. 😐 WFP and Conservatives – get back to me with results like this with your OWN candidate, and I’ll consider it.
Very disappointed GJ didn’t get 50,000 votes in NY.
The write-in totals for Dutchess County are wrong. It shows “0” for Rocky Anderson (and everyone else). My mom was a poll inspector in Dutchess County on Election Day. At her precinct alone, Rocky Anderson received a write-in (as did Ralph Nader, who was not a declared candidate, so it should have been reported under “scattering”.
It might have to do with the fact that counting of ballots in Dutchess County took longer than normal due to a recount for State Senate. Normally the county BOE would count the absentee, write-in, and provisional ballots by itself and it would take a week or two, but with the recount, they need a judge overseeing it. All hand-counted ballots are counted together. This includes write-ins (for the written-in office only), provisional ballots, absentee ballots, and any other ballots that are not cast on Election Day at the precinct.
Also, no race except President shows ANY totals for Dutchess County, so I’m guessing that’s why. However, the 40th State Senate District shows no totals either, and there is no overlap between that and the 41st, which had the recount.
#4, thanks for that very interesting information.
After the November 2008 general election, the New York State Board of Elections released official vote tallies in December. But then in March 2009, it found over 45,000 more votes that it had missed in the first tally. In May 2009 it found a few hundred more. So perhaps there will be later editions of the New York tally.
#1 and 2: I know union members from the CWA and the MTA who vote WFP. If Dem candidates stray too much, the WFP will run different candidates. Since the 1980’s, African-Americans in NY have been saying that they will start a party, because Dems take them for granted. The Conservative Party in reaction to Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and Sen. Jacob Javits.
Competition keeps them honest. I grew up on Staten Island, NY with the Mob. The Mob does not free-market competition!
Richard,
0 votes for NY4-NY15?
Green Party,LP and CP would avoid fusion in New York. I believe Ursula R. in upstate New York went solo with Greens. Her opposition though went fusion.
Looks like these counties did not report:
5 in NYC; Nassau; Duchess.