GOP Takes Control Of New York State Senate

Update: More here.

Hmm. h/t Lala in comments.

It looks like Republicans have managed to win back control of the New York state Senate.

They have apparently gotten two Democratic members, Hiram Monserrate of Queens and Pedro Espada of the Bronx, to vote with them. That gives Senate Republicans the 32 votes they would need to switch control ... thus electing Dean Skelos (R) as the new majority leader and ending Malcolm Smith's (D) leadership after just six months.

Comments

[lala]

Per the NY Daily News -
Dem Senator Diaz against gay marriage and didn't want the issue brought to the floor
and Golisano angry at them raising taxes on the wealthy

[eaglewingz08]

Golisano also was angry that when he had meeting with Smith, Smith was reading his emails on his blackberry the entire time. Also, dems increased their pork projects to 77 million dollars when they obtained the majority but cut republican pork projects to 5 million dollars, and cut one or two pork projects for Espada which may have been the final straw. The democrats also removed all the republicans from their offices which they have held for nearly forty years, and cut two hundred staffers for the republicans who had great institutional knowledge. This was the NYS democrat version of Obama's 'I won' and can do whatever I like politics.
The repubs may have the chance of swinging up to half a dozen additional democrats into supporting their leadership, by allowing them to keep their committee chairs. It looks like former majority leader Malcolm Smith is hanging onto his position as tenuously as PM Gordon Brown is in Britain. I can't say I'm pleased that the two swing Senators are people with some of the most strained ethical and/or legal standards, but if the repubs in the State get a couple of additional dems on board, they might be able to isolate these two so that they won't do lasting damage to the republican cause.