Al D’Amato Bio
Alfonse Marcello D’Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and Republican politician who represented New York in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1999. Known for his energetic constituent service and colorful Senate floor tactics, he chaired the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs from 1995 to 1999 and also served on the Senate Finance Committee. As of 2026, he is the most recent Republican to represent New York in the federal U.S. Senate.
After leaving the Senate, D’Amato founded the lobbying firm Park Strategies, published a memoir, and worked as a media commentator. He has remained active in Republican politics through endorsements, columns, and on-air analysis.
Early Life and Background
Al D’Amato was born in Brooklyn in 1937 and raised in the small Long Island village of Island Park, New York. He is of Italian ancestry and the son of Armand D’Amato, an insurance broker, and Antoinette (Ciofarri) D’Amato. Growing up in a working-class Long Island community helped shape his later attention to local constituent concerns.
He attended local schools before enrolling at Syracuse University, where he earned his undergraduate and law degrees. He is a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law and is a practicing attorney by training.
Path to US Politics
D’Amato’s political rise began at the local level on Long Island. He served as public administrator of Nassau County from 1965 to 1968 and then as Hempstead tax assessor in 1969. From 1971 to 1977, he served as a Hempstead town supervisor.
He became the presiding supervisor and vice chair of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors from 1977 to 1980, gaining the organizational experience that would carry him to a statewide race. In 1980, he decided to challenge four-term Republican incumbent Jacob Javits in the U.S. Senate primary, setting the stage for one of the biggest political upsets in New York history.
Al D’Amato Career
Early Career (1965-1980)
D’Amato built his political base in Nassau County, beginning with the public administrator post in 1965. He then moved through the Hempstead tax assessor role and town supervisor seat, becoming a familiar figure in Long Island Republican politics.
By the late 1970s, he had risen to the vice chair of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors. His hard-charging style and ties to local party leaders prepared him to take on Senator Jacob Javits in 1980.
Senate Election Upset and Early Years (1981-1986)
In 1980, D’Amato defeated incumbent senator Jacob Javits by 56-44% in the Republican primary, capitalizing on Javits’ 1979 diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Javits continued his candidacy on the Liberal Party line, splitting the left-of-center vote with Democratic Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, and D’Amato won the general election with a 45% plurality.
During his first term, D’Amato drew the nickname “Senator Pothole” for his hands-on constituent service, helping New Yorkers navigate federal agencies and resolve local problems. In 1986, he mounted a 23 1/2-hour filibuster against a military bill, famously reading the District of Columbia telephone directory to delay the vote.
Senate Re-Elections and National Profile (1986-1998)
D’Amato won re-election in 1986 and again in 1992, cementing his hold on the seat. His second term included a 1992 filibuster against a bill that would have cost 750 jobs in upstate New York, during which he sang “South of the Border (Down Mexico Way).” He also held the record for the third- and eleventh-longest filibusters ever recorded in the U.S. Senate.
From 1995 to 1999, he chaired the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and during 1995 and 1996 he led the Senate Special Whitewater Committee hearings examining the Clinton-era Whitewater controversy. On the Senate Finance Committee, he also helped Holocaust survivors pursue the recovery of relatives’ funds from Swiss bank accounts.
Post-Senate Career (1999-Present)
After losing his 1998 re-election bid to Democratic congressman Chuck Schumer by 54-44%, D’Amato founded the lobbying firm Park Strategies. He also published a memoir, Power, Pasta and Politics, and wrote a regular column for George magazine until it ceased publication in 2001.
He went on to serve as a Fox News analyst and, as of 2023, is a regular contributor at Red Apple Media’s 77WABC, hosted by John Catsimatidis. He has continued to play an active role in Republican presidential politics, endorsing Fred Thompson in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012, John Kasich in 2016, and Donald Trump in both 2020 and 2024.
Notable Events and Milestones
D’Amato’s career-defining moments include his 1980 upset of Senator Jacob Javits, his record-setting filibusters, and his role as a leading critic of the Clinton administration during the Whitewater hearings. He is also remembered for presenting a poster of a “Taxasaurus Rex,” which he dramatically stabbed with an oversized pencil on the Senate floor.
Al D’Amato Career Wins
Al D’Amato won three U.S. Senate elections during his career, in 1980, 1986, and 1992. His 1980 upset victory over incumbent Jacob Javits launched his national political career.
US Senate Highlights
D’Amato’s first Senate win came in 1980 with a 45% plurality victory in a three-way race. He was re-elected in 1986 and 1992, becoming a fixture of New York Republican politics for nearly two decades. His final Senate campaign ended in a 54-44% loss to Chuck Schumer in 1998.
Other Wins & Achievements
Before reaching the Senate, D’Amato won elections for Hempstead town supervisor and rose to presiding supervisor of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors. He is widely recognized for his record-setting filibusters, his leadership of the Senate Whitewater hearings, and his influential role in recruiting George Pataki to the 1994 Republican gubernatorial ticket.
Al D’Amato Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Al D’Amato is the son of Armand D’Amato, an insurance broker, and Antoinette (Ciofarri) D’Amato. Of Italian ancestry, he was raised in the close-knit village of Island Park, New York, where family and community ties remained central to his political identity.
Personal Life
D’Amato married Penelope Collenburg in 1960, and the couple had four children before divorcing in 1995. He later married Katuria Smith in 2004, and together they had one son and a daughter. Katuria D’Amato filed for divorce on October 3, 2017, and the two became involved in a public custody dispute.