2006 New York state elections

Democrat Michael Arcuri won the open seat of retiring Republican Sherwood Boehlert in the 24th Congressional District,[11] which stretches across Central New York from Utica to Oneonta to the Finger Lakes.

[12] Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand defeated Republican incumbent John Sweeney[13] in the 20th Congressional District, which includes Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls and takes in most of the upper Hudson Valley.

[14] Democrat John Hall defeated Republican incumbent Sue Kelly in the 19th Congressional district in the Lower Hudson Valley outside New York City.

[15] The previous governor, George Pataki, was a Republican who defeated incumbent Democrat Mario Cuomo in 1994 and was re-elected twice by wide margins, leading to a total of 12 consecutive years in the role.

[22] While Cuomo did not have a major scandal in the immediate aftermath of his election or during his time as attorney general, he later went on to be accused of sexual harassment while presiding as governor of New York.