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New York State Assembly District 131

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Mark Benjamin

Republican Party

STH · NY · District 131

Waterloo, NY

New York State Assembly District 131

Raised

Cash on Hand

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PAC Support

Background

Mark Benjamin is a Conservative Republican, prior small business owner, and longtime community volunteer running for New York State Assembly District 131. He has lived in Seneca County for more than two decades, co-founded The Coffee Stop in Chenango Forks before college and later co-founded Crummy Brothers Cookies, and has been active with Seneca Falls Rotary, Seneca Falls-Waterloo Kiwanis, the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce, Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes, the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, and the Seneca County Chamber Community Foundation.

Committee Assignments: No committee assignments available.

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Healthcare

No healthcare-specific position for Mark Benjamin, Republican candidate for New York State Assembly District 131 in 2026, was found in the searched campaign, voter-guide, or local candidate sources. His published campaign priorities focus on lowering taxes and state spending, public safety, and energy policy, with no stated Healthcare bills, votes, co-sponsorships, proposals, or support/opposition positions identified.

Healthcare

Economy & Jobs

Mark Benjamin’s Economy & Jobs platform emphasizes affordability, lower taxes and fees, lower utility costs, reduced state spending, and support for small businesses, farmers, and rural Upstate communities. He presents his business background and job-creation experience as the basis for opposing Albany policies he says raise costs and weaken New York’s economic future.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Support small businesses and rural economic representation

2026-04-13

Benjamin says his campaign will focus on affordability, small business support, lower utility bills, reducing taxes, and policies better reflecting the needs of upstate and rural communities.

Source

Economy & Jobs

Immigration

No public Immigration position for Mark Benjamin, Republican candidate for New York State Assembly District 131 in the 2026 cycle, was found in the searched campaign, voter-guide, or election-profile sources. His campaign site lists priorities on taxes/spending, public safety, and energy policy, but does not state an immigration position.

Immigration

Climate & Energy

Mark Benjamin, the Republican candidate for New York State Assembly District 131 in 2026, frames climate and energy policy primarily around affordability, local control, and consumer choice. He opposes New York energy mandates he says raise utility costs, and supports repealing the electric school bus mandate, restoring local authority over large-scale solar and wind projects, protecting access to natural gas, and ending state policies that dictate home heating and power choices.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Repeal the electric school bus mandate

2026-10-21

Benjamin says he will work to fully repeal New York's electric school bus mandate as part of reforming the state's energy policy.

Source

SUPPORTS

Restore local authority over large-scale solar and wind projects

2026-10-21

Benjamin supports restoring local control over large-scale solar and wind projects, according to a voter-guide summary attributed to his campaign site.

Source

SUPPORTS

Protect access to natural gas and consumer energy choice

2026-10-21

Benjamin's campaign says he will protect access to natural gas and oppose state policies that dictate how New Yorkers heat and power their homes.

Source

Climate & Energy

Education

Mark Benjamin's campaign materials do not present a broad education platform, but they include one education-related policy: he supports fully repealing New York's electric school bus mandate. He frames this as part of opposing state mandates and reducing utility/cost burdens on local communities.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Repeal New York's electric school bus mandate

2026-10-21

Benjamin says he will work to fully repeal the state electric school bus mandate as part of his energy-policy agenda against state mandates and rising costs.

Source

Education

Public Safety

Mark Benjamin’s public-safety platform for New York State Assembly District 131 emphasizes reversing Albany criminal-justice policies, restoring judicial discretion, strengthening penalties for violent offenders, and supporting law enforcement, correction officers, and first responders. He also presents himself as a Second Amendment supporter and received an NRA-PVF AQ grade and endorsement in the District 131 race.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Restore judicial discretion in criminal cases

2026-10-21

Benjamin says the state legislature should pass legislation to bring back judicial discretion as part of his response to bail reform and public-safety concerns.

Source

SUPPORTS

Support law enforcement and first responders

2026-10-21

Benjamin states that he will stand with law enforcement and provide police, correction officers, and first responders the support and respect he says they need to keep families safe.

Source

SUPPORTS

Second Amendment rights and opposition to gun restrictions such as the SAFE Act

2026-10-21

Benjamin’s campaign says he will stand up for the Second Amendment and criticizes the SAFE Act as government overreach affecting law-abiding gun owners.

Source