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Portrait of Andrea Stewart-CousinsPhoto: nysenate.gov

NY · Officeholder

Andrea Stewart-Cousins

DState Senator · District 35

On the ballot Nov 3, 2026: NY State Senate · District 35

Biography

Andrea Stewart-Cousins is the Democratic and Working Families Party candidate for re-election to New York State Senate District 35. A former Yonkers city official and Westchester County legislator, she was first elected to the Senate in 2006 and has been Senate Majority Leader since January 2019. According to the nysenate.gov biography, she is the first woman and first African American woman to hold that post, and as of January 2026 Ballotpedia describes her as the longest-serving Democratic Senate majority leader in state history.[1][2]

Stewart-Cousins was born in New York City in 1950; the nysenate.gov biography says she was born and raised in New York and lives in Yonkers.[1][2] She earned a bachelor's degree from Pace University (1986, per Ballotpedia) and a Master of Public Administration from Pace in 2008; nysenate.gov also lists teaching credentials from Lehman College and honorary doctorates from Pace University (2024) and Sarah Lawrence College (2026).[1][2] She worked in customer service, sales and marketing for New York Telephone/AT&T for 13 years and later in journalism and education; her Ballotpedia profile lists roles as an English teacher at Lincoln High School, a journalist for Gannett and a human resources manager for Careerblazers.[1]

From 1992 to 1996, Stewart-Cousins was director of community affairs for the city of Yonkers, appointed by Mayor Terence Zaleski.[1] She was first elected in 1995 to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, where she represented District 16 from 1996 to 2006, serving as majority whip and later vice-chair and helping pass the county's 1999 Human Rights Law.[1]

In 2004 Stewart-Cousins lost a Senate race against incumbent Nicholas Spano by 18 votes after what Ballotpedia, citing the Times Union, calls the longest recount in New York history. She defeated Spano in 2006, 51.1% to 48.7%.[1] Senate Democrats elected her their leader in December 2012, and she became Senate Majority Leader on January 9, 2019, after Democrats regained the chamber majority; she was re-elected majority leader in December 2024. The nysenate.gov biography also lists her as chair of the Rules Committee.[1][2] In 2021 she served as acting Lieutenant Governor of New York for about two weeks, after Governor Andrew Cuomo's resignation and before Brian Benjamin was sworn in on September 9, 2021.[1]

  1. 1.Andrea Stewart-Cousins · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  2. 2.About Andrea Stewart-Cousins · NYSenate.gov Official record

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.

On the ballot

Full candidate research ›NY State Senate · District 35 ›

Also on the ballot for this seat

Anthony MeranteCandidateRNew York NY State Senate District 35New York

Votes by issue

Their recorded votes on bills that divided the chamber (unanimous votes left out), grouped by topic. A bill can sit under more than one topic. "With" and "against" compare each vote with how most Democrats voted. How topics are assigned

Where they stood out

Voted with most of their party on all 681 party-divided votes on file.

How this is counted

Their votes on the most contested roll calls

The votes in their chamber that came out closest and most divided by party, among those they voted on. How we rank

See all their split votes

Substantive votes concern legislation or nominations; procedural votes concern how the chamber considers them. A Yes vote applies to the motion shown, which may not be final passage.

A10030-B · NY SENATE

Requires health insurers to provide coverage for speech therapy for stuttering

YesVOTED

Requires health insurers to provide coverage for speech therapy for stuttering.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 58–2·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10158 · NY SENATE

Extends limitations on the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Clarkstown, county of Rockland

YesVOTED

Extends limitations on the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Clarkstown, county of Rockland for an additional year for 2026-2027.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10184 · NY SENATE

Limiting the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Haverstraw, county of Rockland

YesVOTED

Relates to limiting the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Haverstraw, county of Rockland for 2026-2027.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 58–2·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10312-A · NY SENATE

Relates to information that residential health care facilities are required to disclose to residents and their families

YesVOTED

Relates to information that residential health care facilities are required to separately disclose to residents and their families; requires such information to be posted on the residential health care facility's website.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 39–21·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10390-A · NY SENATE

Establishes a school speed zone camera demonstration program in the city of Poughkeepsie

YesVOTED

Establishes a school speed zone camera demonstration program in the city of Poughkeepsie; repeals authorization of program December 31, 2030.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10391 · NY SENATE

Relates to adjudications and owner liability for a violation of traffic-control signal indications in the city of Poughkeepsie

YesVOTED

Relates to adjudications and owner liability for a violation of traffic-control signal indications in the city of Poughkeepsie.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10411-A · NY SENATE

Prohibits motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers from charging a subscription fee for certain functions of a motor vehicle after the vehicle is sold

YesVOTED

Prohibits motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers from charging a subscription fee for certain functions of a motor vehicle after the vehicle is sold; provides that any manufacturer, dealer, or agent of a manufacturer or dealer that fails to comply with such requirements shall be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars per point of sale for each violation.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 57–3·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10478 · NY SENATE

Relates to the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of Southampton

YesVOTED

Increases the term of office from two years to four years for the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of Southampton, county of Suffolk, and providing for the staggering of such terms of office.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 58–2·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10922 · NY SENATE

Extends certain provisions relating to the sale, issuance and refund of bonds and notes of New York city

YesVOTED

Extends certain provisions relating to the sale of bonds and notes of the city of New York, the issuance of bonds or notes with variable rates of interest, interest rate exchange agreements of the city of New York, the refunding of bonds, and the down payment for projects financed by bonds; extends the New York state financial emergency act for the city of New York; makes further amendments relating to the effectiveness thereof.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 56–4·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A11030-A · NY SENATE

Requires utility corporations and municipalities to notify property owners prior to beginning any scheduled non-emergency construction or other work

YesVOTED

Requires a utility corporation or municipality to notify property owners at least five business days prior to beginning any non-emergency construction or other work that will result in a planned interruption of a customer's property; requires notice to include, but not be limited to, a description of the work to be performed, the expected duration of such work, the location of such work, and the contact information for the utility performing such work; exempts cases where a natural or man-made disaster or state of emergency occurs.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗

Showing 10 of 2037 votes in this collection. Coverage may be incomplete; each entry links to the official record.