New York Senate District 53

Chenango, Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oneida counties. Population 322,626 (2020). Partisan lean R+38.

2026 candidates

Current senator: Joseph Griffo (R), first elected 2006.

Provisional candidate list. It will be replaced by the New York State Board of Elections certified ballot, including all minor-party lines.

Joseph Griffo

Incumbent · provisional

RepublicanConservative

Matching funds $194.8K

Mandi Drake

Challenger · provisional

DemocraticWorking Families

Matching funds $164.9K

New York uses fusion voting: a candidate can appear on several party lines, and votes on every line count toward their total.

Campaign finance

Joseph Griffo

Raised (2026 cycle)
Not yet imported
Spent
—
Cash on hand
Not reported
Public matching funds
$194,800

Source: NYS Public Campaign Finance Board, public funds payments. Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:29 PM ET.

Mandi Drake

Raised (2026 cycle)
Not yet imported
Spent
—
Cash on hand
Not reported
Public matching funds
$164,883

Source: NYS Public Campaign Finance Board, public funds payments. Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:29 PM ET.

Past results in this district

Legislative results are as reported for this district. Statewide races are estimated for the current district lines.

2024 State Senate

Nov 5, 2024 · 141,736 votes

CandidateVotesShare
Joseph Griffo(R)winner
By party line
  • Republican: 89,023
  • Conservative: 10,436
99,45970.2%
James Meyers(D)
By party line
  • Democratic: 38,285
  • Working Families: 3,921
42,20629.8%
Write-ins
710.1%
District margin
R+40.4
All contested seats
D+8.1
Relative to chamber
R+48.5

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from board of elections filings and results. Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:21 PM ET.

2022 State Senate

Nov 8, 2022 · 94,771 votes

Partial: results for some counties in this district are not yet available.

CandidateVotesShare
Joseph A. Griffo(R)winner
By party line
  • Republican: 74,260
  • Conservative: 12,732
86,99291.8%
Undervote
7,1997.6%
Write-ins
5800.6%
District margin
—
All contested seats
D+0.2

Source: OpenElections New York. Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:19 PM ET.

2024 President

Nov 5, 2024 · 145,525 votes (estimated for current lines)

CandidateVotesShare
Donald J. Trump(R)winner
87,43360.1%
Kamala D. Harris(D)
57,42739.5%
Other candidates
6650.5%
District margin
R+20.7
Statewide
D+12.7
Relative to state
R+33.4

Precinct results re-aggregated to current district lines using 2020 census block populations. Source: The New York Times, 2024 Precinct-Level Election Results. Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:21 PM ET.

2020 President

Nov 3, 2020 · 146,970 votes (estimated for current lines)

CandidateVotesShare
Donald J. Trump(R)winner
83,51756.8%
Joseph R. Biden(D)
60,26641.0%
Jo Jorgensen(L)
1,7891.2%
Howie Hawkins(G)
6220.4%
Brock Pierce(I)
5770.4%
Write-ins
1990.1%
District margin
R+16.2
Statewide
D+23.5
Relative to state
R+39.6

Precinct results re-aggregated to current district lines using 2020 census block populations. Source: Voting and Election Science Team, precinct-level results (Harvard Dataverse, CC BY 4.0). Updated Sep 28, 2026, 7:50 PM ET.

2018 U.S. Senate

Nov 6, 2018 · 109,690 votes (estimated for current lines)

CandidateVotesShare
Chele Chiavacci Farley(R)winner
55,02250.2%
Kirsten E. Gillibrand(D)
54,61449.8%
Write-ins
540.0%
District margin
R+0.4
Statewide
D+34.0
Relative to state
R+34.4

Precinct results re-aggregated to current district lines using 2020 census block populations. Source: Voting and Election Science Team, precinct-level results (Harvard Dataverse, CC BY 4.0). Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:15 PM ET.

2018 Governor

Nov 6, 2018 · 112,608 votes (estimated for current lines)

CandidateVotesShare
Marcus J. Molinaro(R)winner
64,82157.6%
Andrew M. Cuomo(D)
39,07234.7%
Larry Sharpe(L)
4,5324.0%
Stephanie A. Miner(SAM)
2,4202.1%
Howie Hawkins(G)
1,7201.5%
Write-ins
430.0%
District margin
R+24.8
Statewide
D+24.4
Relative to state
R+49.2

Precinct results re-aggregated to current district lines using 2020 census block populations. Source: Voting and Election Science Team, precinct-level results (Harvard Dataverse, CC BY 4.0). Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:15 PM ET.

2018 Comptroller

Nov 6, 2018 · 109,992 votes (estimated for current lines)

CandidateVotesShare
Thomas P. DiNapoli(D)winner
56,27051.2%
Jonathan Trichter(R)
51,56846.9%
Cruger Gallaudet(L)
1,0731.0%
Mark Dunlea(G)
1,0601.0%
Write-ins
210.0%
District margin
D+4.4
Statewide
D+36.3
Relative to state
R+31.9

Precinct results re-aggregated to current district lines using 2020 census block populations. Source: Voting and Election Science Team, precinct-level results (Harvard Dataverse, CC BY 4.0). Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:15 PM ET.

2018 Attorney General

Nov 6, 2018 · 107,917 votes (estimated for current lines)

CandidateVotesShare
Keith Wofford(R)winner
59,19354.9%
Letitia James(D)
45,45842.1%
Christopher Garvey(L)
1,3691.3%
Michael Sussman(G)
1,2431.2%
Other candidate (O)
6200.6%
Write-ins
340.0%
District margin
R+13.1
Statewide
D+27.9
Relative to state
R+41.0

Precinct results re-aggregated to current district lines using 2020 census block populations. Source: Voting and Election Science Team, precinct-level results (Harvard Dataverse, CC BY 4.0). Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:15 PM ET.

2016 U.S. Senate

Nov 8, 2016 · 124,155 votes (estimated for current lines)

CandidateVotesShare
Charles E. Schumer(D)winner
72,59758.5%
Wendy Long(R)
48,58139.1%
Robin Laverne Wilson(G)
1,5851.3%
Alex Merced(L)
1,3041.1%
Write-ins
880.1%
District margin
D+19.8
Statewide
D+44.4
Relative to state
R+24.6

Precinct results re-aggregated to current district lines using 2020 census block populations. Source: Voting and Election Science Team, precinct-level results (Harvard Dataverse, CC BY 4.0). Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:17 PM ET.

2016 President

Nov 8, 2016 · 130,818 votes (estimated for current lines)

CandidateVotesShare
Donald J. Trump(R)winner
73,61656.3%
Hillary Clinton(D)
48,24236.9%
Gary Johnson(L)
5,7804.4%
Jill Stein(G)
1,8941.4%
Write-ins
1,2861.0%
District margin
R+20.8
Statewide
D+23.5
Relative to state
R+44.4

Precinct results re-aggregated to current district lines using 2020 census block populations. Source: Voting and Election Science Team, precinct-level results (Harvard Dataverse, CC BY 4.0). Updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:17 PM ET.

Page data updated Sep 28, 2026, 9:22 PM ET. How we compute these numbers.