Biography
Louis (Lou) Puliafito is the Republican nominee for Assembly District 76 and has run for office several times before, including this seat in 2018 and 2020, state Senate District 28 in 2024 and Manhattan Borough President in 2021. In his Ballotpedia survey he describes a 25-year information technology career at Merrill Lynch and New York Life and 20 years in SEIU 32BJ residential service, including eight as a shop steward. He has not held elected office.[1][2]
Puliafito was born in New York City, according to Ballotpedia, and in his 2026 survey response he says he was born and raised in Yorkville, where he also raised his family.[2] He earned an associate degree from LaGuardia Community College in 1985.[1][2] He says he built a 25-year career in information technology for Fortune 100 companies, starting in Merrill Lynch's mailroom and later developing financial applications and managing enterprise-wide systems at New York Life Insurance, and supporting charitable initiatives through the New York Life Foundation.[2] According to his survey response, he also spent 20 years in SEIU 32BJ residential building services, including eight years as a shop steward, and Ballotpedia lists him as producer and host of Decent Life.[2]
Puliafito lost to Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright in the 2018 and 2020 general elections for this seat; in 2020, running on the Republican and Liberal Party lines, he received 42.1% of the vote to her 57.4%.[2] He later lost the 2021 general election for Manhattan Borough President to Mark Levine and the 2024 general election for state Senate District 28 to Liz Krueger.[2]
- 1.New York State Assembly District 76 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
- 2.Louis Puliafito · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2026-01-01 Candidate's own words
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.
