Conservative Party is Still Biggest Vote-Getting Party in New York State, Other than the Two Major Parties

On November 2012, the Working Families Party New York nominee for U.S. Senate (who was also the Democratic nominee) received more votes on the Working Families line than the Conservative Party nominee for the same office (the Conservative nominee was also the Republican nominee). The U.S. Senate totals represented the first time that the WFP had outpolled the Conservative Party in a New York statewide race. The two US Senate totals were: Working Families 250,580; Conservative 240,819.

But the U.S. Senate race was an aberration. When one looks at other public offices up in New York state in 2012, the Conservative Party still outpolled the Working Families Party.

In the U.S. House races, the Conservative Party nominees polled 257,439 votes, which was 4.84% of the total vote cast in the districts in which the Conservative Party had nominees. By contrast, in U.S. House races, the Working Families Party polled 219,104 votes, which was 3.65% of the vote in the districts with WFP nominees.

In State Senate races, the Conservative Party nominees received 321,494 votes, which was 6.56% of the total vote cast in districts with a Conservative on the ballot. The Working Families Party received 148,472 votes, which was 3.63% of the total vote in districts with WFP in the race.

In Assembly races, Conservative nominees got 277,922 votes, or 6.73% of the vote in districts in which the Conservatives participated. The Working Families Assembly figures were 174,137 votes, or 4.62%.

Also, in the presidential race, Mitt Romney received 262,035 votes (3.72%) as a Conservative, whereas President Obama received 147,643 votes on the WFP line, or 2.09%.

In 2012, the Conservative Party displayed more independence than the Working Families Party did. Among the congressional and legislative nominees of each party, the Conservative Party ran 27 nominees who weren’t major party nominees. The Working Families Party only ran five nominees who weren’t major party nominees.


Comments

Conservative Party is Still Biggest Vote-Getting Party in New York State, Other than the Two Major Parties — No Comments

  1. “…in the presidential race, Mitt Romney received 262,035 votes (3.72%) as a Conservative…”

    This just made me chuckle.

  2. Richard,
    Is it possible to say how many of the 26 Conservative Party candidates who were actually Conservatives and the 5 Worker Family Party nominees who are actually registered with the WFP, how many were running in races in which one of the major parties didn’t field a candidate? That is, in how many of these races did the “junior partner” run surrogates for their major party bosses?

  3. #2, I don’t know how various candidates are registered. For the Working Families nominees who weren’t also Democratic nominees, in all cases there was a Democratic nominee in the race.

    There were actually 27 races, not 26, in which the Conservative Party ran someone who was not a major party nominee. In 17 of those, both major parties had a nominee of their own.

  4. Thanks, Richard. There were several races here in which Conservative Republicans took on incumbenets who were seen as “too liberal” (there were three State Senators who were challenged for their votes to approve gay marriage). In this part of New York State the WFP acts only in accordance with the Democratic Party. WFP’s real base is in New York City.

  5. @1 lol nice one. 😛 So true.

    Guess these numbers go to show the Conservative party is a stronger force in NY politics than the WFP still.

  6. There were several State Senate races where the Conservative Party ran a candidate of their own. In District 41, Neil DiCarlo won the Conservative primary but lost the GOP primary and the Independence Party Primary (he didn’t enter the latter) against incumbent Stephen Saland, who voted for legalizing same-sex marriage a couple years ago. DiCarlo got about 14% of the vote in the general election, enough to split the vote and oust the 22-year incumbent – in favor of the Democrat, who only got about 45%.

  7. –will ask (FOIL) NYSBOE tomorrow for all WPs Wilson Pecula (sp) filed last year (authorizaions to place non-party members on ballot line

    filing BPP Blanket Primary Party registration

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