Mayer seat not enough for Democrats to control state Senate

While Democrats were happy that Shelley Mayer beat Republican Julie Killian in Tuesday’s special election, it wasn’t enough to gain control of the state Senate.
The special election filled the state Senate seat formerly held by Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Yonkers Assemblywoman Mayer handily beat Rye Republican Killian by 14 points.
Mayer praised Westchester voters for helping her raise the number of Senate Democrats to 32.

While 32 should be the magic number for control of the Senate, Brooklyn Democratic Sen. Simcha Felder announced he would continue to caucus with the Republicans, guaranteeing the Democrats would come up short in changing the balance of power.
News 12 reached out to Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins via Skype in Albany, who tried to put a positive spin on things.

“We've added 10 members in 10 days - that's impressive,” she said.

While she might be disappointed that the Democrats will remain in the minority for the remainder of the 2018 legislative session, she remains optimistic that big changes could be in store after the fall election.

“If it doesn't happen now, I believe based on what we're seeing all over the state, it will happen in November. It’s critical now, it will be inevitable in November,” she said.