The 1986 United States Senate election in New York took place on November 4, 1986, alongside other elections to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in other states as well as elections to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator

Al D'Amato Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and Republican politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1999. From 1995 to 1999, he chaired the Senate Banking C ...

won re-election to a second term by a wide margin versus Democratic opponent Mark Green. D'Amato's performance was credited to his strength in suburban areas. During his Senate campaign, Green refused to accept money from special interest groups'

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

s (PACs) – which had accounted for 25% of all campaign spending in Congressional campaigns in 1984 – denouncing PACs as "legalized bribery." Former Representative and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

vice-presidential nominee

Geraldine Ferraro Geraldine Anne Ferraro (August 26, 1935 March 26, 2011) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice presiden ...

had been widely expected to run for Senate. However, Ferraro chose to forgo a candidacy in December 1985 due to legal problems facing her and her husband.

Candidates

Republican

, incumbent U.S. Senator

Democratic

Role of Geraldine Ferraro

In the run-up to the Senate contest, former Representative

was widely expected to run against D'Amato. Despite her presence on the losing presidential ticket in

, her high public stature led commentators to believe she'd be a formidable Senate candidate. In 1985, one year before the election, Ferraro did groundwork in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

towards that end. However, in , she said she would not run. She explained that she would not run due to an ongoing

U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

probe on her and her husband's finances stemming from 1984 campaign revelations.

Green vs. Dyson contest

In her absence, two major Democrats entered the race: * Mark Green, Chief Speechwriter for U.S. Senator

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1984 and 1988 Democratic presidential nominations, until in 1988, he dropped out amid revelations of ex ...

and former congressional candidate * John S. Dyson, Chairman of the

New York Power Authority The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is a public benefit corporation owned by the State of New York and is the largest state public power utility in the United States. It provides some of the lowest-cost electricity in the nation, operating 16 ge ...

(later the nominee of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

) The moderate Dyson was supported by many high-profile Democrats, and received the behind-the-scenes support of Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

. Green received the support of eight Democratic members of Congress. Despite spending $6 million on his campaign to the $600,000 raised by Green, Dyson was defeated by the more liberal Green in the primary. Upon hearing news of his victory, Green boasted:

"We were outspent by 800 percent and won by 600 percent. No one has ever been outspent in a primary by $6 million to $800,000 and still won.''

Results

References

{{1986 United States elections

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

1986 New York (state) elections