Members of New York’s political parties will head to the polls for a rare Thursday election, picking their preferred candidates to square off in November when the leadership of the state Senate will be on the line.
There are 18 Democratic or Republican primary races this year in the Senate and 40 major intraparty primaries in the Assembly, according to the state Board of Elections. All 213 legislative seats are up for election this year.
…Twelve current senators are facing a challenge within their own party this year.
Among the most closely watched races will come in western New York — where Buffalo Sen. Mark Grisanti faces a GOP challenge from Kenmore attorney Kevin Stocker — and in the Capital Region, where Sen. Roy McDonald, R-Saratoga, will face off against Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione.
Both Grisanti and McDonald voted in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage last year, along with fellow Republicans Stephen Saland of Poughkeepsie and James Alesi of Perinton, Monroe County.
Saland faces a primary challenge of his own from Neil Di Carlo, a Putnam County resident who has the backing of former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. Alesi chose not to seek re-election.
Grisanti, McDonald and Saland all have large advantages over their challengers when it comes to their campaign contributions, boosted in part by a steady stream of donations from same-sex-marriage supporters. Saland’s campaign had about $388,000 in its account as of last week, while Di Carlo’s had about $12,000.
I vividly remember Grisanti conjuring up his Catholic background as a reason for supporting SSM that night that it was passed. What a sad day that was. Vote these guys out if you can.
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Kevin Stocker’s “issues” section of his web page is vague. I guess he is betting on discontent with Grisanti’s phony-marriage vote or with The One in general to carry him through. That’s not a bad strategy even if I’m not a fan of the Sucks Less approach.