As expected, Democrats won state legislative races in Albany on Tuesday as a part of a rare shakeup.
Assemblywoman Pat Fahy is the new Senator in New York's 46th District and Albany Common Councilor Gabriella Romero will replace Fahy as the new Assemblywoman in the 109th.
Fahy faced Republican Ted Danz, who campaigned heavily against Fahy's support of bail reform, from which she has never wavered. The final tally: 65 to 35 percent in Fahy's favor.
"Whether it's 787, whether it's a whole host of projects all throughout: wind, semiconductor, AI, you name it, I do believe the future is bright for this region," said Fahy, who is moving to the Senate after a dozen years in the Assembly to replace the retiring Democrat Neil Breslin.
Romero garnered nearly 16,000 votes to Republican challenger Alicia Purdy’s 5,122. After winning a six-way Democratic primary in June, Romero is expected to pick up Fahy's activism: she campaigned on "the affordability crisis" and ways to deal with it.
"Whether it's through addressing the free childcare system, by making sure that there are more slots and making sure that the slots are accessible to people. Whether it's expanding our access to higher education, whether it's expanding our access to governmental jobs through the civil service exam. There's so many different ways to address the affordability crisis at the state level, expanding housing opportunities through home ownership, but also tenant protections, homeowner protection," Romero said.
Purdy, who has worked to revive the city Republican Party, also ran for the seat in 2022 and for mayor of Albany in 2021.
"I'm somebody who will never stop fighting and I hope that other people will see it the same way to continue to fight and to never lose heart," said Purdy.
Other Assembly incumbents winning re-election include Phil Steck in the 110th and John McDonald in the 108th district: "I was lucky this year. I kind of had a free pass, but it was great to help other candidates," McDonald said.
102nd District Republican incumbent Chris Tague was re-elected by a large margin over Democratic challenger Janet Tweed.
In the 111th, Democrat Angelo Santabarbara coasted to victory against Republican Joe Mastroianni, who was accused of taking Santabarbara campaign literature out of a resident's mailbox in the closing days of the race.
Congressman Paul Tonko easily won a ninth term, lauding an abundance of tech and infrastructure projects he helped bring to the area. The Democrat from the 20th district concedes "it has been a long campaign season."
"There have been a lot of ups and downs and a lot of unusual outcomes, but hopeful that when all the dust settles, we can go forward in a progressive manner and continue to grow what is an emerging economy that allows this area to draw a lot of talent, a lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of startups, and a lot of opportunity for the workers of all kinds, from blue collar to researchers," Tonko said.
Republican Senators Jim Tedisco and Jake Ashby were also re-elected.
