Senator Malcolm A. Smith of Queens, the new Senate minority leader, has ousted Senator Liz Krueger of Manhattan as leader of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, even though the party gained four seats in the 62-member Senate in the two elections she presided over. Ms. Krueger's fortunes were not helped by her support for Senator Eric T. Schneiderman of Manhattan in his unsuccessful bid for the minority leadership.
The chairmanship will be split among three people. Senator Antoine M. Thompson of Buffalo, a freshman legislator, will be in charge of campaigns, taking a top role. Senator Diane J. Savino of Staten Island will run candidate recruitment, and Senator Jeffrey D. Klein of Westchester will handle fund-raising. Mr. Smith is also creating a board to oversee the committee, which will include Ms. Krueger and Mr. Schneiderman.
"I want to make sure we have as many members as possible engaged," Mr. Smith said in an interview, adding that the leaders of the committee should "understand the complexity of the state. Heretofore, it's been fragmented - upstate, downstate."
