Republicans have lost control of two state Senate seats covering the bulk of the city of Rochester as well as key suburban towns, such as Greece and Pittsford.
At the end of Election Day, Democrat Samra Brouk led Republican Chris Missick in the race for the 55th Senate District seat and Democrat Jeremy Cooney led Republican Mike Barry in the race for the 56th Senate District seat. Brouk had a comfortable lead, but Cooney and Barry were separated by 882 votes.
After the Monroe County Board of Elections released the unofficial absentee and affidavit ballot results late Tuesday, it became clear that Brouk and Cooney authoritatively won their respective races. Their victories mean that the city will have representation, and therefore influence, in the Senate’s Democratic majority.
Cooney finished with 65,786 votes while Barry received 47,869.
“It is clear who the residents of the 56th Senate District have chosen to serve as their next state Senator,” Cooney said Wednesday in a statement. “I thank retiring Senator Joe Robach for his service and Republican Mike Barry for a spirited campaign. I look forward to bringing Rochester’s priorities to the Senate Democratic Majority, where I will work tirelessly to create more upstate jobs, fully fund our schools, and lower healthcare costs for seniors and families."
Ontario County still hasn’t reported the results of the 3,872 absentee ballots it received from voters in the 55th Senate District. But between Ontario’s in-person voting tallies and Monroe County’s machine and absentee totals, Brouk had 82,877 votes to Missick’s 56,826 votes. There aren’t enough outstanding absentees for Missick to have a chance of catching up to Brouk.
The 55th District is currently represented by Republican Rich Funke, whose term is up at the end of the year. He chose not to seek reelection.
The Monroe County Board of Elections received just over 103,000 absentee ballots this year, representing roughly one-fifth of the county’s 481,448 registered voters. During early voting, 105,731 people cast their ballots, and 171,747 people voted on Election Day. Overall turnout was 78 percent, according to the Board of Elections.
Jeremy Moule is CITY's news editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
At the end of Election Day, Democrat Samra Brouk led Republican Chris Missick in the race for the 55th Senate District seat and Democrat Jeremy Cooney led Republican Mike Barry in the race for the 56th Senate District seat. Brouk had a comfortable lead, but Cooney and Barry were separated by 882 votes.
- PHOTO BY GINO FANELLI
- Jeremy Cooney
Cooney finished with 65,786 votes while Barry received 47,869.
“It is clear who the residents of the 56th Senate District have chosen to serve as their next state Senator,” Cooney said Wednesday in a statement. “I thank retiring Senator Joe Robach for his service and Republican Mike Barry for a spirited campaign. I look forward to bringing Rochester’s priorities to the Senate Democratic Majority, where I will work tirelessly to create more upstate jobs, fully fund our schools, and lower healthcare costs for seniors and families."
- FILE PHOTO
- Samra Brouk
The 55th District is currently represented by Republican Rich Funke, whose term is up at the end of the year. He chose not to seek reelection.
The Monroe County Board of Elections received just over 103,000 absentee ballots this year, representing roughly one-fifth of the county’s 481,448 registered voters. During early voting, 105,731 people cast their ballots, and 171,747 people voted on Election Day. Overall turnout was 78 percent, according to the Board of Elections.
Jeremy Moule is CITY's news editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
