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Michelle Hinchey Discusses Her Exploratory NYS Senate Run

Michelle Hinchey

Michelle Hinchey, daughter of the late New York Congressman Maurice Hinchey, is exploring a run for a state Senate seat.

Michelle Hinchey has formed a campaign committee to explore a 2020 run in the 46th District in the New York state Senate against Republican incumbent George Amedore. Amedore has been in the legislature since 2007 and is in his third Senate term.

“Last year we were so focused in our area on the congressional race, which was incredible, electing Antonio Delgado and being involved in that capacity too really solidified for me that this is something I want to pursue. I think representing people and helping people is really among one of the highest callings you can have, and I learned that firsthand from my father and being able to travel the district with him and interact with people every day and seeing how hard work and dedication and compassion can really have an honest, positive impact on people’s lives,” Hinchey says. “And after we elected Antonio, I took a step back and really looked at it, and I thought that there’s a lot of things that we can do at the state level for the Hudson Valley and the Capital Region, and we need stronger upstate voices. So I thought I’d go for it.”

She refers to 19th District New York Congressman Antonio Delgado. The 31-year-old Democrat from Saugerties acknowledges that her surname, and father’s legacy, will help.

“I learned firsthand from him how this job should be done and what it can do to help people. And it really truly does encompass everything I am and the way that I approach this job. I’ve seen all the positives and the negatives from it,” says Hinchey. “And I welcome anyone who wants to come meet me and see where the similarities are and what we can do, how we can work together to continue the legacy that my father created with his staff and with the people of the Hudson Valley.”

Maurice Hinchey, who died in November 2017, is remembered as an environmental champion and a man devoted to the public over 10 terms in Congress and eight in the legislature.

In a statement, Amedore says, “We have another legislative session next year, where we will continue to address many important issues with an impact on the lives of my constituents and all New Yorkers. I welcome her into the conversation and look forward to a spirited debate about the future of New York next year.” Amedore did not immediately respond to interview requests.

While Amedore won his 2018 re-election by defeating Democrat Pat Courtney Strong, and Sue Serino kept her seat, other Republican state senators saw their districts go to Democrats. Terrence Murphy lost his re-election bid to Democrat Pete Harckham; and neither Bill Larkin nor John Bonacic sought re-election, with Democrats James Skoufis and Jen Metzger winning their seats, respectively. Hinchey describes why the 46th District can go Democratic next time around.

“We have incredible momentum. We have an incredible Democratic caucus in the state legislature, but we need more upstate voices,” Hinchey says. “The seats that we flipped are awesome, but we need to make sure that we’ve got more fighting for our upstate working families, for our farmers, for our young people here. We need to make sure that there’s a voice in that caucus so that our needs are also met.”

Hinchey kicked off a listening tour this week. She’ll travel the district throughout the remainder of the summer on the rather informal tour and plans to decide by the end of the summer whether to turn an exploratory run into a definitive one. The 46th District includes parts of Albany, Schenectady, and Ulster Counties, and all of Montgomery and Greene Counties.

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