1972Final results
1972 election for New York Senate District 40
New York State Senate · New York
Richard E. Schermerhorn (R) won with 57.3% of the vote, defeating B. Sears Hunter (D) by 17.8 points.
Richard E. SchermerhornRepublican · winner · incumbent
57.3%68,695
B. Sears HunterDemocrat
39.5%47,310
Joseph MartoranaOther party
1.9%2,231
Donald I. ShortLibertarian
1.3%1,605
119,841 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1972
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
Richard E. Schermerhorn (R)B. Sears Hunter (D)
Also on the ballot: Joseph Martorana (Other party), 1.9%; Donald I. Short (Libertarian), 1.3%