Special election on LI could boost Stewart-Cousins

Long Island Democrat Todd Kaminsky won a special election Tuesday night to replace disgraced state Sen. Dean Skelos, which could change the balance of power in the state Senate for the first time in years.

News 12 Staff

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Apr 21, 2016, 1:43 AM

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Updated 3,319 days ago

Long Island Democrat Todd Kaminsky won a special election Tuesday night to replace disgraced state Sen. Dean Skelos, which could change the balance of power in the state Senate for the first time in years.

"We built momentum with our victory yesterday," says Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who represents Greenburgh and parts of White Plains, New Rochelle, Yonkers and Scarsdale.

The win could give Democrats control of the state Senate, which would propel Stewart-Cousins into the role of the first female majority leader in state history.

But a splinter group of five Democrats could prevent that. The so-called Independent Democratic Caucus includes Sens. Jeff Klein and David Carlucci, who often side with Republicans on some issues.

To consolidate power, Stewart-Cousins says she would need to bring those senators into the Democratic fold full-time.