Liberal activists were left seething over his feeble efforts to help fellow Democrats. Republicans, even in defeat, could point to the many counties across upstate New York that he failed to win.
But Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo emerged from his Election Day victory with something arguably more consequential: an unencumbered path, and perhaps a renewed validation, for the kind of centrism that has long been his political brand.
By the traditional standards of party loyalty, it was a setback for Mr. Cuomo on Tuesday when Republicans captured the State Senate in convincing fashion, since the party stands in the way of a number of his liberal goals.
But Republicans also have much in common with the governor, who has doggedly and unapologetically sought to curb spending and cut taxes. The continuation of a divided Legislature keeps Mr. Cuomo in a powerful position, allowing him to play deal maker between Republicans and Democrats for another two years.
“It gives him a chance to show people the type of leader he can be, whatever his aspirations may be ultimately,” said Senator Joseph A. Griffo, a Republican from Rome.
He added that if liberal-leaning Democrats had won control of the entire Legislature, it could have been less a blessing than a curse for the centrist-minded Mr. Cuomo.
A Republican-controlled Senate, Mr. Griffo said, “helps him to counterbalance within his own political sphere some of the issues that he may not espouse.”
Senate Republicans are a known quantity to Mr. Cuomo, who has taken pride in getting on-time budgets passed and restoring order in the Capitol. In fact, he worked so harmoniously with Republicans during the first two years of his term that he declined to help Democrats retake the chamber in 2012, frustrating some members of his party.
This year, Mr. Cuomo entered into an arranged marriage with Senate Democrats: He agreed to help them reclaim the chamber in exchange for an endorsement from the Working Families Party, a group of unions and liberal activists. But after securing the party’s ballot line, he ended up doing little to help Democratic Senate candidates.
“He got what he wanted,” said Christina Greer, an assistant professor of political science at Fordham University. “He got the line, he got the win, and he’ll govern from the center.”
Doing so, she added, would also provide Mr. Cuomo with an attractive message to voters, particularly if he pursues a bid for president.
“That’s a great narrative to say, ‘I can still get things done in a bipartisan fashion,’ ” Dr. Greer said.
Mr. Cuomo’s campaign released several television ads that showcased his success at getting “Democrats and Republicans to work together.” And while saying he wanted his party to win control of the Senate, he emphasized his ability to do business with anyone.
“You have wild liberals, you have ultraconservatives,” he told reporters in September. “My job is to figure how to work with them, and figure out how to get all of them to a place where they’re satisfied or they have a win.”
Working with the Republicans, Mr. Cuomo will face a more difficult road in passing some of the liberal agenda items he cited in the campaign, including measures to protect abortion rights, raise the minimum wage, grant tuition aid to undocumented students and provide public financing for political campaigns.
Senate Democrats somewhat ruefully looked ahead to the next rematch. “I think the Republican majority will be short-lived,” said Senator Michael N. Gianaris of Queens, chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. “I hope they enjoy the next two years.”
But John McArdle, a former top aide to Senate Republicans, predicted Mr. Cuomo would find them “a very good partner” as long as he pursued an agenda focused more on economic policy.
“That will be the key: whether the governor focuses on the bread-and-butter issues, the issues that most people are concerned with, or whether he again tries to tack left,” he said.
In interviews, several Republican senators said Mr. Cuomo’s desire to create jobs and address burdensome property taxes lined up with their priorities.
Senator Martin J. Golden, a Republican from Brooklyn, recalled increases in taxes and spending when Democrats ran the Senate in 2009 and 2010. Had Democrats won on Tuesday, Mr. Golden said, “we’d be on that runaway train again.”
Amid the ferment on the left, business leaders said they were hopeful about the prospect of the Republican-controlled Senate working with Mr. Cuomo.
“He’s been able to get the kind of results that have eluded the powers in Washington,” said Kathryn S. Wylde, the president of the Partnership for New York City. “I think we’re in a good place for that to continue.”