Al D'Amato

Al D'Amato
Official portrait, c. 1990s
Chair of the Senate Banking Committee
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999
Preceded byDonald Riegle
Succeeded byPhil Gramm
United States Senator
from New York
In office
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1999
Preceded byJacob Javits
Succeeded byChuck Schumer
Personal details
Born
Alfonse Marcello D'Amato

(1937-08-01) August 1, 1937 (age 87)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Penelope D'Amato
(m. 1960; div. 1995)
Katuria Smith
(m. 2004; sep. 2017)
Children6
EducationSyracuse University (BS, LLB)

Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States senator from New York from 1981 to 1999.

In 1980, after 25 years of involvement in Republican politics and the government of Long Island,[1] D'Amato defeated four-term Republican Sen. Jacob Javits in a Republican U.S. Senate primary. D'Amato went on to prevail in the 1980 general election for that office. D'Amato represented the state of New York in the Senate from 1981 to 1999.[2] He was re-elected in 1986 and 1992, but was defeated in 1998 by Democratic Rep. Chuck Schumer.

Following his departure from the Senate, D'Amato founded Park Strategies, a lobbying firm.[3] As of 2024, D'Amato is the last Republican to have represented New York in the U.S. Senate.[4]

  1. ^ The Almanac of American Politics 1996, by Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa, National Journal Inc., 1995, pages 904 and 908
  2. ^ "Alfonse Marcello D'AMATO, Congress, NY (1937)". www.infoplease.com. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  3. ^ Rivlin, Gary; Richtel, Matt (March 5, 2007). "D'Amato Never Folds; Former Senator, a Poker Aficionado, Lobbies for Online Gambling". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "States in the Senate | New York Senators". senate.gov. United States Senate. Retrieved April 21, 2022.