Why New York business lobby backs GOP effort to check downstate Democrats

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Donna Abbott Vlahos | Albany Business Review

Heather Briccetti is president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State.

David Robinson

Reporter- Albany Business Review

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The Business Council of New York State has endorsed seven Republican candidates for select state Senate seats as the push to control that chamber heats up with just two weeks to Election Day.

On Tuesday, the list of non-incumbent candidates followed an earlier endorsement of sitting legislators announcement by The Business Council, a trade group representing almost 2,500 private-sector companies in New York.

The makeup of both lists reflects a strategy emerging during this election, with business interests supporting upstate Republican candidates to prevent a New York City power grab by Democrats.

That's important because GOP control of the state Senate has traditionally been a check on the downstate interests typically represented by Democrats in New York City.

An Albany Business Review cover story about the many factors behind the upstate-downstate political power struggle has been available to subscribers only until being unlocked here.

Here are the four Republican challengers for Senate seats backed by the group:

Terrence Murphy, District 40 (Duchess Putnam and Westchester counties); Susan Serino, District 41 (Duchess and Putnam counties); George Amedore, District 46 (Albany, Greene, Montgomery, Schenectady and Ulster counties); and Richard Funke, District 55 (Monroe and Ontario counties).

Here are the group's three Republican candidates in Senate races with open seats:

Thomas Crocci, District 3 (Suffolk County); Michael Venditto , District 8 (Nassau and Suffolk counties); and Robert Ortt, District 62 (Monroe, Niagara and Orleans counties).

Here is The Business Council list for the other endorsements in the election.

Robinson covers breaking news and health care.