1978Final results
1978 election for New York Senate District 20
New York State Senate · New York
Donald Halperin (D) won with 79.2% of the vote, defeating Harry Demell (R) by 65.4 points.
Donald HalperinDemocrat · winner · incumbent
79.2%57,193
Harry DemellRepublican
13.8%9,952
Adam NewtonConservative
4.4%3,175
Peter VartholomatosLibertarian
2.6%1,887
72,207 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 1978
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
Donald Halperin (D)Harry Demell (R)
Also on the ballot: Adam Newton (Conservative), 4.4%; Peter Vartholomatos (Libertarian), 2.6%