Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually.

On February 8, 1808, State Senator Joseph C. Yates was appointed to the New York Supreme Court, leaving a vacancy in the Eastern District.

The Democratic-Republican majority of the 27th Legislature had not only refused to grant a charter, but actually ordered the Merchant's Bank to shut down by May 1805.

During the next session, the bank bribed enough legislators to have the charter approved, although the Democratic-Republican leaders advocated strongly against it.

Daniel Rodman (Dem.-Rep.) was re-elected Clerk of the Assembly with 61 votes against 46 for James Van Ingen (Fed.).

On November 7, 1808, the Legislature elected 19 presidential electors, all Democratic-Republicans: Ambrose Spencer, Henry Huntington, John W. Seaman, Henry Rutgers, John Garretson, Ebenezer White, Thomas Lawrence, James Tallmadge, Jonathan Rouse, Micajah Pettit, Henry Yates Jr., Benjamin Mooers, Adam B. Voorman, Thomas Shankland, William Hallock, Russell Attwater, Joseph Simonds, Hugh Jamison and Matthew Carpenter.

On February 7, 1809, the Legislature elected Assemblyman Obadiah German (Dem.-Rep.) to succeed Samuel L. Mitchill (Dem.-Rep.) in the U.S. Senate.

Most of the Lewisites eventually supported the Embargo, but assailed DeWitt Clinton in the press because he had originally opposed it.

The Embargo was very unpopular and led to a revival of the Federalist Party which had been reduced to a small minority (without any member in the Senate from 1806 to 1808), but at the State election in April 1809 would already win a majority of the Assembly seats.