NY-21: Tedra Cobb (D)
Leading the Democratic ticket this year in New York State’s North Country region is Tedra Cobb, a long-time resident of St. Lawrence County who presently operates a strategic consulting business. Cobb, who emerged as the winner of a crowded primary field two months ago, is now challenging two-term Republican incumbent Elise Stefanik. Overall, Stefanik, even despite her large wins back in 2014 and 2016, has a number of significant vulnerabilities, as I highlight in the graphic below.
Perhaps Cobb could pull off an upset win in November if she can exploit all of Stefanik’s many weaknesses and contrast them with her many strengths as a candidate.
NY-SD-45: Emily Martz (D)
Economic development specialist Emily Martz, a former contestant in the Democratic congressional primary in the 21st District, recently shifted gears to challenge long-time Republican State Senator Betty Little, who has run unopposed without credible opposition for most of her political career.
Little, who represents a moderate-to-consevative district in the eastern Adirondacks that swung hard from supporting Obama in 2012 to supporting Trump in 2016, may have the potential to become vulnerable in a Democratic wave year. Perhaps Martz, with her economic development credentials, may be able to appeal to a certain segment of financially-oriented Obama-Trump swing voters. In addition, because Betty Little has basically run unopposed for so long, a large number of voters in the district may be totally unaware of Little’s rather poor voting record on women’s issues and environmental issues.
NY-SD-43: Aaron Gladd (D)
The open Upper Hudson Valley-based 43rd State Senate District which stretches from the Glens Falls area down to Columbia County was recently vacated by retiring State Senator Kathy Marchione, who had been one of the most staunchly conservative members of the legislature, and was an ardent opponent of same-sex marriage, abortion rights and gun control legislation.
Currently running to replace Marchione are Democrat Aaron Gladd, an army veteran who previously served as a policy advisor to Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Daphne Jordan, the former legislative director for Marchione. While Gladd so far has solidly outraised Jordan, because of the traditional Republican-lean of the district, most are expecting this to be a very competitive, toss-up race with no clear favorite. Overall, the final outcome of this race is very hard to predict in this environment and may hinge heavily on what happens in the 21st Congressional race between Cobb and Stefanik, as well as the 19th Congressional race between Antonio Delgado and John Faso.
NY-AD-113: Carrie Woerner (D)
Second-term State Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner is a popular and well-liked figure in her Upper Hudson Valley-based swing district that includes the increasingly Democratic City of Saratoga Springs, as well as many rural, conservative-leaning small towns in Washington County near the Vermont border. To satisfy the needs of a broad and diverse constituency, Woerner has generally worked hard to be a centrist and bipartisan voice at the state capital, frequently reaching across the aisle to work with Republican lawmakers from surrounding legislative districts.
This November, Carrie Woerner will face off against Republican Morgan Zegers, a recent college graduate and right-wing activist, who is generally considered to be a weak challenger, and so far has struggled to gain traction, continually posting pretty lackluster fundraising numbers. Overall, heading into election season, Woerner appears to be in a very good position to receive a third term.
Click here to contribute to Tedra Cobb’s congressional campaign through ActBlue.