But two senators who made their support of marriage equality a central point of their campaign--Lynn Nunes, who ran against Shirley Huntley; and Charlie Ramos, who ran against Ruben Diaz Sr--both lost badly on Tuesday.

But Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has lobbied Albany hard on same sex marriage, doesn't see a trend.

If you look at the results from Tuesday--Toby Stavisky, a state senator who had a very very aggressive challenger--her opponent ran almost an exclusively anti-choice, anti-marriage campaign...Senator Stavisky was reelected. If you look at the assembly district that used to be Ann Carrozza's district, that's a place where a pro-marriage candidate won. If you look at upstate New York, Buffalo-area, the senator there lost who was an anti-marriage senator--so to speak--to a pro-marriage senator. In the Huntley-Nunes race, Nunes did lose. Shirley Huntley won. But that's one example. 

Quinn then joked: "So I refute your initial assertion. And I am right and you are wrong."

She has noted that campaigns are complicated, and rarely come down to a single issue. It is worth noting as well that challenging an incumbent, even in this so-called anti-incumbent year, is always difficult.

"I believe with all of my heart and soul that the vast majorty of New Yorkers want elected officials who respect and affirm all families and I believe most New Yorkers want people like that in office," Quinn added. "I believe the trend is for full equality in New York."