Asm. Angelo J. Morinello
Angelo J. Morinello (R-AD-145) holds a reliably Republican seat despite a district registration lean of D+5, with Democrats holding 34,198 registrations (37.3%) to Republicans' 29,775 (32.5%); his 2026 outlook ranges from Lean R in a favorable Democratic environment to Safe R in a favorable Republican environment, and his recent electoral margins of 22.6 points in 2024 and 27.0 points in 2022 reflect a district performing well to the right of its registration baseline. The district, centered in the Niagara Falls area of western New York, is predominantly white (80.9%), with a median household income of $70,494, a 13.9% poverty rate, and a 71.0% homeownership rate, indicating a working- and middle-class exurban or small-city character. First elected in 2017, Morinello has sponsored 40 bills in the 2025 session, with his heaviest concentration in Penal Law (6 bills), Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (4 bills), and State Finance (3 bills), alongside targeted local legislation under Niagara County (2 bills). The brief does not identify a committee chairmanship for Morinello, and no lobbying sector data is included in this profile.AI
Topic Focus AI
Topics extracted by AI from floor debate speeches, joint committee hearing transcripts, and sponsored legislation. Tag size reflects number of supporting citations.
Key Issues AI
Key issue areas derived from floor debate speeches and sponsored bill law sections.
Legislative Activity (2025–2026)
Bill sponsorship from NYS Open Legislation API. Hearing appearances from joint Senate-Assembly committee transcripts. Floor debate from official Assembly session transcripts (Granicus, 2023–present).
Bill Focus Areas 2025–2026
Grouped by law section from sponsored Assembly bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation API.
Floor Speeches: In Support (21) AI
Drew on his experience as a judge using judicial diversion, describing a case where he was forced to incarcerate a defendant who had exceeded rehabilitation expectations. He characterized the bill as providing an 'escape hatch' while preserving mandatory minimums and judicial discretion.
Praised the bill as timely and worthwhile, noting his experience as a judge with overzealous debt collectors purchasing loans multiple times over. Emphasized the importance of explaining obligations to cosigners (parents and grandparents) upfront to prevent financial disadvantage.
Drawing on judicial experience, Morinello supported the bill as timely and necessary, noting that overzealous debt collectors often lack proper loan assignment documentation and fail to explain cosigner obligations to parents and grandparents, putting families in financial jeopardy.
Supported the bill but suggested expanding it to include teaching kitchens to address food insecurity and teach cooking skills to younger individuals using inexpensive ingredients.
Supported the bill but suggested expanding it to include teaching kitchens to address food insecurity and teach younger individuals cooking skills using inexpensive ingredients.
Floor Speeches: In Opposition (19) AI
Opposed the bill as an attack on the three-tier system that employs thousands of Teamsters and generates enormous tax revenue. Characterized it as favoring special interests and predicting it will have a devastating negative effect on New York's economy.
The bill violates the three-tier system that protects industry integrity and supports thousands of jobs in distribution and trucking. He warned it represents the first step in dismantling protections that benefit workers and businesses statewide.
Expressed concern about implementation and cost, questioning whether a centralized 24-hour interpretation center accessible to rural courts would be more efficient than the current approach. Worried about dialect differences within languages and whether the bill adequately addresses justice system needs statewide.
Criticized the underlying sports betting law as fundamentally flawed and argued the Assembly should eliminate it rather than spend time on regulatory patches that merely mask the true issue of state-created addiction for revenue purposes.
Users already have access to betting information via credit cards and can check it constantly while betting. The real problem is the addictive nature of mobile betting itself. Based on his experience representing bookmakers, the industry targets inexperienced bettors, and the state's legalization was a "money grab" without consideration for families and youth. Safeguards like invoices do not help addicted individuals.
Electoral History AD-145
General Elections
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Angelo J. Morinello 61.3% (37,667) | Jeffrey Elder 38.7% (23,774) | 22.6pts |
| 2022 | Angelo J. Morinello 63.5% (30,131) | Douglas E. Mooradian 36.5% (17,347) | 27.0pts |
| 2020 | Angelo J. Morinello 100.0% (44,255) | Uncontested | — |
| 2018 | Angelo J. Morinello 100.0% (31,884) | Uncontested | — |
| 2016 | Angelo J. Morinello 54.6% (28,381) | John D. Ceretto 45.4% (23,609) | ⚡ 9.2pts |
| 2014 | John D. Ceretto 100.0% (23,240) | Uncontested | — |
| 2012 | John D. Ceretto 50.9% (25,936) | Robert M. Restaino 49.1% (24,976) | ⚡ 1.8pts |
| 2010 | Mark J. F. Schroeder 100.0% (34,894) | Uncontested | — |
| 2008 | Mark J. Schroeder 75.0% (37,563) | Dennis M. Marek 25.0% (12,551) | 50.0pts |
| 2006 | Mark J. Schroeder 77.9% (29,495) | Richard E. Zajac 22.1% (8,389) | 55.8pts |
| 2004 | Mark J. Schroeder 72.0% (37,853) | Richard A. Rydza 26.7% (14,022) | 45.3pts |
| 2002 | Brian Higgins 76.6% (30,375) | Richard A. Rydza 23.4% (9,259) | 53.2pts |
| 2000 | Brian M. Higgins 65.0% (33,235) | Marilynn J. Calhoun 35.0% (17,868) | 30.0pts |
| 1998 | Brian M. Higgins 45.2% (19,297) | Steven P. Mc Carville 32.2% (13,727) | 13.0pts |
| 1996 | Richard J. Keane 51.9% (25,311) | Justin A. Cross 48.1% (23,475) | ⚡ 3.8pts |
Primary Elections
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 (Working Families) | Robert M. Restaino 84.3% (43) | John Ceretto 15.7% (8) | 68.6pts |
Special Elections
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Michael P. Kearns 56.7% (7,593) | Christopher J. Fahey 43.3% (5,795) | 13.4pts |
Source: NYS Board of Elections certified results. ⚡ = margin under 10 pts. District history reflects 2022 redistricted boundaries.
Vulnerability Index AD-145
Base lean: R+12
Scenario model: ±5pt national environment shift applied to district base lean (R+12). Base lean blends voter registration (40%) with recent contested general election margins (60%), using up to the last 4 general elections with margins under 40 points. Ratings: Safe D/R = 15+ pts, Likely = 8–14 pts, Lean = 3–7 pts, Toss-up = within 2 pts (Assembly districts are smaller and more homogeneous than Senate districts, so tighter thresholds are used). Generic ballot from Silver Bulletin (Nate Silver), as of 10/20/2026. Not a prediction — reflects structural competitiveness under different cycle environments.
District 145 Profile
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2024).
Voter Registration
Demographics
Commute Mode
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2024). Race and ethnicity figures may not sum to 100% — Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity category that overlaps with racial groups.
Lobbying Activity
No lobbying disclosures on record for this member in the available dataset.
Source: NY Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government via data.ny.gov.