New York's 34th State Senate district

New York's 34th
State Senate district
Senator
  Nathalia Fernandez
D–Morris Park
Registration65.8% Democratic
12.5% Republican
17.6% No party preference
Demographics35% White
14% Black
43% Hispanic
7% Asian
Population (2017)328,268[1]
Registered voters194,537[2]

New York's 34th State Senate district is one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Nathalia Fernandez since 2023, succeeding Alessandra Biaggi.[3]

Alessandra Biaggi ran in 2018 for the Democratic nomination for New York State Senate in District 34. While only 32 years old, she ran against powerful longtime incumbent Jeffrey D. Klein, the number 2 Democrat in the NY Senate and the leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, who had held the seat for 14 years.[4][5][6] Klein outspent Biaggi by a rate of 9-to-1, spending $2 million to her $200,000.[7] Biaggi said: "The more people told me I couldn’t win, the more obsessed I became."[8]

In a major upset, Biaggi defeated Klein in the primary, 54%-46%.[9][10] She remarked: "It was a tough fight. And, I should also say, we should thank [Senator Klein] for his service. But his time is up.”[11] Subsequently, on November 6, 2018, she defeated Republican Richard Ribustello 76.0%-14.9%, and was elected to the New York State Senate.[9][12][13][14][15][16] At 32 years of age, she became one of the youngest women ever elected to the New York State Senate.[16]

  1. ^ "State Senate District 34, NY". Census Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "Enrollment by Senate District". New York State Board of Elections. February 2019.
  3. ^ "New York State Senator Nathalia Fernandez". The New York State Senate. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  4. ^ McKinley, Jesse (July 11, 2018). "Rivals of Democratic Renegades Pick Up Endorsements and Momentum". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Wang, Vivian (April 11, 2019). "A Shouting Match, Nasty Personal Attacks and a Growing Rift Among N.Y. Democrats". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "Pelhamite Alessandra Biaggi Challenging State Sen. Jeff Klein for Democratic Nomination". The Pelham Plus. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  7. ^ Lungariello, Mark. "Jeff Klein spent more than $3M in NYS Senate primary loss". The Journal News.
  8. ^ Venugopal Ramaswamy, Swapna. "Alessandra Biaggi: A losing streak, then unseating a political kingpin". lohud.com. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Alessandra Biaggi". Ballotpedia.
  10. ^ Edward Schneier (2019). Putting People Back in Politics; The Revival of American Democracy
  11. ^ Wang, Vivian (September 14, 2018). "Democratic Insurgents Topple 6 New York Senate Incumbents". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Alison Durkee (November 7, 2018). "Progressive challenger Alessandra Biaggi defeats Richard Ribustello in New York state Senate race". Mic.
  13. ^ "Alessandra Biaggi defeats Bronx Sen. Jeff Klein in NY primary". WPIX. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  14. ^ Lombardo, D. September 13, 2018. "Former IDC senators struggling to retain Democratic support". Albany Times Union. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  15. ^ "Alessandra Biaggi victory in state Senate race puts 'nail in the IDC coffin'". Rockland/Westchester Journal News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  16. ^ a b Claire Wasserman (2021). Ladies Get Paid; The Ultimate Guide to Breaking Barriers, Owning Your Worth, and Taking Command of Your Career