New York Republican Chairman ed Cox predicted the GOP will pick up as many as three seats later this year, though he admited the party will have a tough go at keeping their Bufflao and Rochester-area districts.

“Dean (Skelos) has done a superb job going through some very sdifficult waters maknig sure we hold onto the Senate,” Cox said on Fred Dicker’s Talk-1300 show. ”It looks very good.”

Senate Republicans hold a 33 to 29 majority in the chamber, not counting the four-member Independent Democratic Conference which is sometimes aligned with the GOP.

Cox said he expects Republicans to flip the seats held by Sen. Joe Addabbo in Queens, outgoing Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer of Westchester and the newly drawn sixty-third district outside of Albany.

Republicans hold a upperhand in part due to a series of insurance policies the conference took out on keeping power after regaining the majority in 2010.

Senate Republicans drew their own boundaries during the redistricting process and carved out a sixty-third Senate seat in the process in a Republican-friendly area of the Capital Region.

In addition to working with the IDC (to the frustration of the remaining Democratic minority), the GOP has touted their special relationship with the popular Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo.

Still, the demographic trends of Democratic-heavy New York are not in the Senate GOP’s favor.

Republicans face stiff challenges in Buffalo and Rochester, even with their redistricting advantage. Democrats also feel they have a chance of picking up the district held by retiring Sen. Owen Johnson in Suffolk County.

“We could have as many as three pick ups while we have some tough seats to defend, I think we’ll keep them,” Cox said.

One argument that will continue to be a thread for Senate Republicans is the fact that the GOP’s last lever of power is the upper chamber of the Legislature in New York. It’s an argument aimed at moderates and surburban voters, which, as usual, is where those tossup races are found.

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