About the New York State Conservative Party

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The New York State Conservative Party was founded in 1962.  Its founders, J. Daniel Mahoney, Kieran O'Doherty, Charles Rice, Raymond Walker and Charles Edison created the party to counter the influence of the Liberal party.   

In 1970, James Buckley won his bid for the United State Senate running on the Conservative line.  In the 1980s, Senator Al D'Amato won his seat with the help of the 275,100 votes he received on the Conservative line.  In the 1990s, the Conservative Party provided the margin of victory for George Pataki over Governor Mario Cuomo.  Congressman Lee Zeldin received the most votes for Governor by a Republican/Conservative Candidate in 2022 narrowly losing to Governor Kathy Hochul.