New York Republican State Committee


The New York Republican State Committee established 1855, is an affiliate of the United States Republican Party. Its headquarters are in Albany, New York. The purpose of the committee is to nominate Republican candidates for election to New York state and federal political roles. It also formulates Republican Party policy on New York State issues and assists its nominees in their election campaigns.

History

The New York Republican State Committee was established in 1855, one year after the founding of the "Republican Party" by William H. Seward and Thurlow Weed. Initially, the committee met every three years to plan the Republican National Convention and it occasionally met during the election campaigning periods.
The establishment of the Republican Party in New York in the 1850s was a difficult task. At the time, the nativist American Party, was active. However, the committee presented nominees from a party with well-recognized members, a defined set of principles, stable, powerful, well-known leaders and a well established structure. The committees nominees were first successful in 1856.
Around 1894, when immigration was at its peak, the New York State Constitution created a clause which caused Upstate New York to have reappointed districts so that there would be more votes per district, which gave native New Yorkers more votes than immigrants. It was not until 1974 that the Supreme Court of the United States deemed the clause to unconstitutional. That created a turmoil in the politics of New York because the Republican Party lost its hold on the state legislature. Since 1959, Nelson Rockefeller and George Pataki were the only two major Republican governors of New York.
Until 1911, the New York Republican State Committee nominated its candidates through a primary or caucus system, which meant the average voter had very little input as to who would be their choice for the state and federal offices. That system was taken out of practice after the passing of the Direct Primary Law in 1911, which allowed for more input from those present at the primary.

Organization

County committee

New York State has 62 counties. Every two years, in each county, Republicans elect a "Republican County Committee". The chair of each county committee is the face of the Republican Party in that county. New York also has 150 Assembly districts. Republicans elect one male and one female leader in each district. The district leaders form the executive committee of the respective county committee. The chair and the executive committee seek new party members; control local finances; find candidates to run for public office and choose the nominee.

State committee

The New York State Republican State Committee is composed of one male and one female representative from each Assembly District. Before each statewide election, the committee organises a party convention and chooses candidates for offices of the state. 60% of the committee's vote is needed to win the party's nomination. If no candidate wins 60% of the committee's vote, the candidates with more than 25 percent of the committee's vote compete in a "primary" which is held in the month of September. A candidate with less than 25 percent of the committee's vote may compete in the "primary" if they have a petition of support of greater than 15000 voters.
The State Committee also elects one National Committeewoman and one National Committeeman to represent the state committee to the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C. The current National Committee members are Jennifer Saul, a Republican fundraiser and former chairwoman of the New York County Republican Committee, and Lawrence Kadish, a real estate developer from downstate New York.

Current elected officials

The New York Republican Party holds 22 out of the 63 seats in the New York State Senate and 5 of the state's 27 U.S. House seats.

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

Both of New York's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Democrats since 1998. Al D'Amato was the last Republican to represent New York in the U.S. Senate. First elected in 1980, D'Amato lost his bid for a fourth term in 1998 to Chuck Schumer who has held the seat since.

U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the 27 seats New York is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, 6 are held by Republicans:
New York has not elected any GOP candidates to statewide office since 2002, when George Pataki was re-elected as governor. In 2006, Pataki opted not to seek re-election to a fourth term. Former state assemblyman John Faso ran as the Republican nominee in the 2006 election and was subsequently defeated by Democratic challenger Eliot Spitzer.

Notable Legislators

ChairTenureHometown while serving
Edwin D. Morgan1856–1858
1874–1875		Manhattan
James Kelly1858–1860Manhattan
Simeon Draper1860–1862Manhattan
Henry R. Low1862–1863Monticello
Charles Jones1863–1865Brooklyn
William R. Stewart1865–1866Manhattan
Hamilton Harris1866–1870Albany
Alonzo B. Cornell1870–1874
1875–1877
1878–1879		Manhattan
John F. Smyth1877–1878
1882–1883		Albany
Chester A. Arthur1879–1881Manhattan
B. Platt Carpenter1881–1882Stanford
James D. Warren1883–1885Buffalo
Chester S. Cole1885–1887Corning
Cornelius N. Bliss1887–1889Manhattan
John N. Knapp1889–1891Auburn
William H. BrookfieldSeptember 1891 – September 1894
Charles W. HackettSeptember 1894 – April 1898Utica
Benjamin B. Odell Jr.May 1898 – November 1900
April 1904 – September 1906		Newburgh
George W. DunnNovember 1900 – April 1904Binghamton
Timothy L. WoodruffSeptember 1906 – October 1910Brooklyn
Ezra P. PrenticeOctober 1910 – January 1911Manhattan
William Barnes Jr.January 1911 – September 1914Albany
Frederick C. TannerOctober 1914 – January 1917Manhattan
George A. GlynnJanuary 1917 – September 1922Watertown
George K. MorrisSeptember 1922 – August 1928Amsterdam
H. Edmund MacholdAugust 1928 – June 1929Watertown
William J. MaierJune 1929 – November 1930Seneca Falls
W. Kingsland MacyDecember 1930 – September 1934Islip
Melvin C. EatonSeptember 1934 – November 1936Norwich
William S. MurrayJanuary 1937 – April 1940Utica
Edwin F. JaeckleApril 1940 – November 1944Buffalo
Glen R. BedenkappJanuary 1945 – February 1949Lewiston
William L. Pfeiffer1949 – September 1953Buffalo
Dean P. TaylorSeptember 1953 – September 1954Troy
L. Judson MorhouseSeptember 1954 – January 1963Ticonderoga
Fred A. YoungApril 1963 – January 1965Lowville
Carl SpadFebruary 1965 – May 1967White Plains
Charles A. Schoeneck Jr.May 1967 – April 1969Syracuse
Charles T. Lanigan1969 – November 1972Utica
Richard M. RosenbaumNovember 1972 – June 1977Rochester
Bernard M. KilbournJune 1977 – 1981Utica
George L. Clark Jr.March 1981 – July 1985Brooklyn
Anthony J. ColavitaSeptember 19, 1985 – June 22, 1989Westchester County
J. Patrick BarrettJune 22, 1989 – January 14, 1991Syracuse
William D. PowersJanuary 14, 1991 – March 8, 2001Rensselaer County
Alexander F. TreadwellMarch 8, 2001 – November 15, 2004Westport
Stephen J. MinarikNovember 15, 2004 – November 15, 2006Webster
Joseph N. MondelloNovember 15, 2006 – September 29, 2009Hempstead
Edward F. CoxSeptember 29, 2009 – July 1, 2019Manhattan
Nick LangworthyJuly 1, 2019 – presentAmherst