Incumbents Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey (D-N.Y.) both reclaimed their seats in Congress, as did New York State Assembly member Barbara S. Lifton (D-125th District), who ran unopposed. In the race for the State Senate seat in the 53rd District, Republican George H. Winner beat his challenger, Daniel J. Cleveland.
In the Senate race, Schumer received 71 percent of the vote; his Republican challenger, New York State Assembly member Howard Mills, the current deputy minority leader of the legislative body, received 24 percent.
Mills praised his campaign staff’s and supporters’ efforts, and his campaign’s role in the election in his concession speech last night.
“We stuck to the issues,” Mills said. “We elevated the level of debate. I’m proud of our campaign.”
Schumer, New York’s senior senator, told an audience of his supporters in a Manhattan ballroom that he looks forward to serving another term.
“For some people, ‘I Love New York’ is a slogan or a song,” Schumer said. “For me, it’s my life. I promise to keep working just as hard for New Yorkers in the future as I have in the past.”
Hinchey won a sixth term by handily defeating his opponent, Republican William A. Brenner, with 81 percent of the vote.
In the State Senate race, Cleveland garnered nearly 60 percent of votes in the 53rd District. Resolution No. 181 of 2003, which would have allowed Tompkins County to join the Catskill Region Off-Track Betting Corp., was shot down. Had the resolution passed, the gambling company could have opened and operated betting facilities in the county. Two similar resolutions failed to pass in previous elections.
Archived article by David Gura
Sun Staff Writer