Saland was a member of the New York State Senate (41st District) from 1991 to 2012. After voting for same-sex marriage in 2011, Saland received a Republican primary challenge from Neil Di Carlo in 2012. Di Carlo made a campaign issue of Saland's same-sex marriage vote. Although Saland won the primary by a margin of 107 votes, Di Carlo continued his campaign as the candidate of the Conservative Party. Saland lost the general election to Democrat Terry Gipson by 2,096 votes; Di Carlo acted as a spoiler, receiving 17,300 votes on the Conservative line.