Overview
- Gianaris announced his plans on X and told NY1 he is prioritizing his two young children and his 92-year-old mother.
- His departure removes a prominent potential successor to Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and City & State reports it could clear room for Jamaal Bailey in a future leadership transition.
- The decision opens a competitive race for the left-leaning Senate District 12 seat covering Astoria, Woodside, Sunnyside, Elmhurst, Maspeth and Ridgewood, which observers expect to draw strong progressive interest.
- Across more than two decades in Albany, he helped Democrats regain Senate control in 2018 and backed laws codifying abortion protections and expanding early and mail-in voting.
- He began in the Assembly in 2000 and moved to the Senate in 2010; NY1 first reported that he will not seek another term.