Thirty-one members of the New York Legislature are retiring in 2026. This is the second-most retiring incumbents since 2010. The only other year with more than 30 retirements was 2020, when there were 33. Otherwise, 25 incumbents or fewer have retired each year since 2010.
According to City and State New York’s Rebecca C. Lewis and Eric Holmberg, this year’s retirements include several multiple-decade lawmakers, leadership members, and members representing battleground districts on Long Island. Among the notable retirements this year are Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris (D), Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D), and former Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay (R).
A total of 183 incumbents are running for re-election, the second-fewest since 2010. Thirty-two of those incumbents (17.5%) are contested. This is a departure from the last two election cycles, in which there was a record high number of contested incumbents in 2022 (46) and a record low in 2024 (18), but it more closely resembles the number of contested incumbents in years from 2010 to 2020.
All 32 incumbents facing primary challengers this year are Democrats. This is the first time this has happened since 2010.
In total, 60 primaries, about 14.1% of all 426 possible primaries, are contested. There are 53 contested Democratic primaries and seven contested Republican primaries. This is a jump up from 2024, when there were 35 contested primaries, but closer to the numbers from 2020 and 2022.
There are 442 major party candidates — 282 Democrats and 160 Republicans — running this year. This is more than 2024, but fewer than 2020 or 2022.
There are 213 seats up for election – all 150 seats in the Assembly and all 63 in the state Senate. Heading into the 2026 elections, New York has a Democratic trifecta. Democrats have a 103-47 majority in the state Assembly and a 41-22 majority in the state Senate. Governor Kathy Hochul, who is also up for re-election this year, is a Democrat.
Click here and here to read more about New York’s 2026 state legislative elections.
