New York Republicans regained control of the state Senate after Jack Martins was declared the winner of a disputed race in Nassau County today by State Supreme Court Justice Ira Warshawsky, the Associated Press reported.

The ruling gives Republicans at least 32 members in the the 62-seat chamber, with one contest still undecided. Before 2008, when Democrats won a 32-30 Senate majority, the Senate had been controlled by Republicans since 1966. Democrats retained a majority in the 150-seat Assembly in the Nov. 2 elections.

The Republican’s victory over Democratic Senator Craig Johnson strengthens the party’s position in talks to close next year’s $9 billion budget deficit and in the drawing of new boundaries for lawmakers’ districts.

“The arrogance of one-party rule” in the Legislature hurt voters during the past two years, Republican Senate Leader Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre has said. Democrats used their majority to push through spending and tax increases with the minimum number of required votes, and no Republican support.

Senate Republicans elected Skelos as their leader Nov. 29. Skelos said then he expects to be elected president of the Senate when lawmakers return to Albany in January. As president, he would control the Senate’s schedule.

Democrats’ bare majority left them vulnerable to demands of their own members that helped delay this year’s budget agreement until four months after the start of the fiscal year. In 2009, when the Senate was deadlocked at 31-31 after a Democratic senator temporarily defected to Republicans, $2.9 billion of revenue bills were stalled for a month.

(Read More: Bloomberg News)