Empire State voters heading to the polls on Tuesday will get the chance to pick their representatives in the New York State Legislature for the next two-year term — with several races to watch in the city and beyond.
Every seat in the state Senate and Assembly are up for grabs this year, but in firmly blue New York State there’s no danger for the Democratic Party that either chamber of the legislature will fall out of its control.
Still, there are races of interest across the state as voters cast ballots in all 63 Senate districts and 150 Assembly districts, including in southern Brooklyn which has trended red in a sea of blue in recent years.
Here are eight races to watch:
Senate District 17
Brooklyn (Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Bath Beach)
Republican incumbent Steve Chan, a retired cop, is facing off against Democrat Larry He in the heavily Asian district that has trended red in 2022 and 2024 with Republicans Lee Zeldin and President Trump easily carrying the district in the race for governor and the White House, respectively.
Chan won two years by defeating Democratic incumbent Iwen Chu.
He is a Democratic district leader who worked for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assemblyman William Colton, and has portrayed himself as a moderate.
The race drew headlines after a 73-year-old campaign volunteer for Chan was arrested for allegedly slapping a He campaign aide last week.
Senate District 7
Nassau County’s North Shore
Former City Councilman Rory Lancman (D), who moved into the district a few years ago, is facing off against Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz (R) to replace Sen. Jack Martins, a Republican who didn’t seek reelection.
Martins had served two stints in the Senate and reclaimed his former seat by defeating Democratic incumbent Anna Kaplan in 2022. He then won reelection two years ago in the swing district, which was carried by Zeldin and Trump in the last two election cycles.
Senate District 38
Rockland County
Republican incumbent Bill Weber faces a tough challenge from Democrat Joseph Rand, who is now the mayor of the village of Nyack on the banks of the Hudson River.
Weber turned the seat red in 2022 by defeating then-Democratic Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick despite Democrats holding an enrollment advantage in the district.
Republicans have received support locally despite Dems’ enrollment edge with four-term Rockland County Executive Ed Day and US Rep. Mike Lawler winning the district.
Trump won the district handily in 2024 and Zeldin narrowly carried it over Democrat Kathy Hochul in the 2022 gubernatorial race.
Senate District 39
Hudson Valley (part of Dutchess, Orange and Putnam counties)
Democrat Lisa Kaul is challenging Republican incumbent Rob Rolison, the former mayor of Poughkeepsie, who won reelection by less than a percentage point in the newly redrawn district two years ago.
Democrat Kamala Harris carried the district over Trump in the 2024 presidential race, though Zeldin won it over Hochul in 2022.
Assembly District 45
Southern Brooklyn (Midwood, Gravesend and Brighton Beach)
Republican incumbent Michael Novakhov, who has held the seat since 2022, is facing off against Democrat Joey Cohen-Saban in a rematch for two years ago.
Novakhov, a radio host and native of the Soviet Union, defeated Saban, chief of staff to Sen. Sam Sutton, by only 270 votes in 2024.
Novakhov caught flak after it was revealed he failed to report filing for bankruptcy on his state financial disclosure form.
Assembly District 46
Southern Brooklyn (Bay Ridge, Coney Island and Sea Gate)
Republican Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny is squaring off in a rematch against Democrat Chris McCreight after the GOP nominee defeated McCreight by a narrow 4 points in 2024.
A Democrat-turned Republican, Brook-Krasny took the seat when he defeated Democratic incumbent Mathylde Frontus in 2022. He previously represented the area as a Democrat before he was charged but later acquitted in a pill mill scandal when he worked at a laboratory clinic.
Assembly District 23
Queens (Rockaway Peninsula, Howard Beach, Ozone Park)
Democratic Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer-Amato is retiring after four terms.
Republican Thomas Sullivan, a financial consultant and Army reservist, is running again after losing to Pheffer-Amato by just 3 points in 2024. His Democratic challenger is Pesach Osina, who has worked as a staffer in the City Council speaker’s office, the city comptroller’s office and the state Assembly.
The government watchdog group Citizens Union endorsed Sullivan, saying he was more supportive of its reform agenda.
Assembly District 16
Nassau County (including Great Neck and Port Washington)
Republican Assembly Member Daniel Norber is retiring, leaving a vacancy. He won the seat in 2024, defeating former Democratic Assembly Member Gina Sillitti in a once- blue-leaning district.
Democrat Kim Keiserman and Republican David Hassid are vying for the open seat in a district with a substantial Jewish population. Keiserman is a former teacher and Hassid is the son of Iranian Jewish refugees.
Hassid and the Nassau GOP have run ads hammering Keiserman for donating to Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and Texas senatorial candidate James Talarico, both Democrats who they characterize as anti-Israel.
