Early voting has begun for this year’s general election, and every seat in the New York state Legislature is on the ballot.
In the state Senate, Republicans are trying to reduce Democrats’ 41-22 majority while Democrats are trying to grow it.
One race where Democrats see opportunity is the 43rd district, which covers Rensselaer County and parts of Albany and Washington counties. The seat has been long held by Republicans, including former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, but the latest redistricting gives Democrats and unaffiliated voters a registration edge.
Enter Devin Lander, state historian and first-time candidate, who is vying to unseat the district’s incumbent Republican Sen. Jake Ashby.
“I think it's very important symbolically,” Lander said, though noting that the district has changed. “The enrollments are different now. People's expectations are different now. And I think, you know, people are … ready for new leadership.”
Ashby points out he’s won twice under the new lines.
“It's a purple district,” Ashby said. "And I think that I represent that, and I have very well ... during my time in the Assembly, and also in the Senate."
Ashby served one term in the Assembly before being elected to the Senate in 2022.
There also are contested seats on Long Island, as well as in the Hudson Valley, the Capital Region and Central New York. Both parties are trying to reach voters contending with the rising cost of living and high energy bills.
“I think we have tremendous opportunity to say to these voters, 'Look at us. We stand for responsible governing,’” Sen. Shelley Mayer, D-Yonkers, told WCNY’s Dispatches from Planet Albany podcast. “We're not ideologues. We are trying to get stuff done.”
Mayer is the new leader of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. Her Republican counterpart said that while Democrats are blaming President Trump, voters also are showing discontent with Albany.
“To be honest with you … places where (we see) our biggest opportunities used to be Republican seats that that switched to Democrat seats, you know, a few years ago,” said Sen. George Borrello, R-Hanover, and head of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. “And again, these are working class Democrats and Independents, people that work hard, pay their bills, and obey the law.”
Democrats lost the “supermajority” after the 2024 election when Republicans flipped a seat in Brooklyn. That number is significant because it means the Senate could otherwise override a governor’s veto.
Republicans said gaining seats would give them more leverage for compromises, no matter who prevails in between Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in the race for governor.
