Allegany County is considered a conservative county, supporting Republican national and state candidates. In 2004, it voted for George W. Bush over John Kerry 63% to 34%, and in 2008 it voted for John McCain over Barack Obama 59% to 39%. It has been reported that in the last 170 years, the only Democratic candidates to win were Franklin Pierce in 1852 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. In 2006, neither Democrat Eliot Spitzer or Hillary Clinton carried it in their otherwise landslide elections for governor and US senator, respectively. Eliot Spitzer lost 48.98% to John Fasos 49.03%. Hillary Clinton lost the county by 3 points. In 2010, Andrew Cuomo lost by a wide margin while Senator Chuck Schumer carried it by a narrow margin of 49.46% to Jay Townsends 48.86% a margin of 78 votes. It was one of only two counties that Senator Kirsten Gillibrand lost to Wendy Long in United States Senate election in New York, 2012.. Which was a closer race: Eliot Spitzer vs John Fasos or Chuck Schumer vs Jay Townsend?