Chuck Schumer victory margin crimped by strong GOP turnout

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Schumer last week won a record fifth term to the U.S. Senate from New York, but he did it with the smallest margin of victory since he first ran against then-Sen. Al D’Amato in 1998.

Schumer, 71, the Democratic Senate majority leader, won with 55.3% of the vote statewide Tuesday, slightly better than his 54.6% showing statewide in his defeat of D’Amato, then a three-term Republican senator from Nassau County.

In the 1998 race, Schumer upset D'Amato, who spent $27 million on his campaign to Schumer's $16 million.

Since then, Schumer has coasted to victory, with 71.2% against Howard Mills in 2004, 66.3% against Jay Townsend in 2010 and 70.6% against Wendy Long in 2016.

This year, Schumer won with a similar statewide margin as 24 years ago, but he spent $20 million in campaign funds while his little-known opponent, Republican Joe Pinion, spent about $443,000.

Still, Schumer is not alone among statewide candidates with lower winning margins compared with past years.

The victory margins of Gov. Kathy Hochul and the other officials at the top of the Democratic ticket also lagged.

And Schumer still won more votes than any other statewide Democrat, state Board of Elections records show.

“In a very tough environment, Senator Schumer led the ticket and received the most votes of any Democrat,” Schumer spokesman Angelo Roefaro said in a statement to Newsday.

“Senator Schumer looks forward to continuing to work hard and deliver real results for Long Island,” Roefaro said.

State party leaders and strategists cited two reasons for the Democrats' showing in the 2022 election: The issue of crime and the turnout for Republican Lee Zeldin in his bid for governor.

Jay Jacobs, New York State and Nassau County Democratic chairman, told Newsday he didn’t think the vote against Schumer reflected what people really think of him.

Jacobs said “something unique happened in New York” that differed from most of the country.

“The issue of crime and the phony bail reform charges made by Republicans and the belief that Lee Zeldin could actually win this year motivated the Republican base dramatically,” Jacobs told Newsday.

In a statement, New York State Republican Committee chairman Nick Langworthy said, “There is no question that Lee Zeldin's incredible strength at the top of our ticket had a demonstrable impact on down-ballot races.”

Langworthy said the suburbs sent a message that they want a change from Democratic policies "that have given us record inflation and a crime crisis.”

After winning his three previous reelection races in Nassau and Suffolk counties with 61%, 56% and 57% of the vote, this year Schumer lost Long Island with a 45% margin to Pinion’s 53%.

In Nassau, Schumer got 47% of the vote to Pinion's 51%.

But in Suffolk, Zeldin's home base, Schumer trailed with 45% of the vote to Pinion’s 53%.

Democratic political strategist Hank Sheinkopf still called Schumer unbeatable and said: “He’s the greatest vote-getter in New York State.”

But Sheinkopf added, “What the problem here for Democrats is [the] New York City suburbs.”

Noting Republicans' flipping of two Democratic House seats on Long Island, Sheinkopf said: “Why did they lose? Because people are incessantly concerned in the suburbs about New York City seeping into the rest of the state. The crime. The costs. The general sense that things are out of control.”

Mike Dawidziak, a political consultant who advises Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), said another factor is Schumer’s post as Senate majority leader, a semi-executive position that draws complaints from Republicans and even some in his own party.

As the leader of the Senate, Schumer has become a lightning rod nationally and in New York for his decisions on legislative priorities and the Democrats’ agenda, and a target for negative advertising by Republicans.

When Schumer served only as a senator, he had greater control over his publicity, Dawidziak said.

“But as the Senate majority leader,” he said, “he doesn't get to control his coverage.”

And, Dawidziak said, “He gets a lot of publicity.”