At a candidate forum in the run-up to the primary, Democrat Sam Hodge cast the race for the 106th state assembly seat in dramatic terms.
"Good morning," he said. "I am a hopeful person. Right now, it seems like the entire world is on fire. Every time we open our phones, read an article, it's just another tragedy over and over and over again. But the Democrats do have buckets of water, we're just not throwing them. I think that now more than ever we need new leaders, new voices, new ideas, and we have to change our politics."
Hodge was challenging seven term incumbent Didi Barrett for the seat. During the campaign, he attacked her for her relationship with energy companies, and claimed she had aligned herself with Republicans on immigration issues.
Standing outside the polling place in Hudson's Third Ward, it was clear Hodge's message was resonating with some voters. I asked one of them, Megan Penderleith, why she was supporting him. "I think everything about his messaging," she said. "I think his energy, I think having someone fresh and new, where things aren't, I don't know, just seem to go as they go. And somebody who's really trying to make an effort for some change."
Penderleith said she's been disappointed with incumbent Didi Barrett's office. She's reached out directly a couple times about her son's educational needs, and a loud construction project in her neighborhood. She said she never got a response.
Across the river, in Catskill, many people echoed the call for new leadership in the state assembly.
The Democratic primary for the 102nd district featured three candidates. Robert Tomlinson had just cast his vote for Thomas Boomhower, a Greene County economic development associate, who Tomlinson described as "the new young kid on the block." But he called the Democratic slate "an embarrassment of riches," and said it was time for older political activists - like himself - to let new voices take over. "Even though I'm going to stay involved and engaged, it's time for me to step aside," said Tomlinson. "It's time for some of the elders to step aside, you know. And I think it's an invitation to join and enlarge our party, have a bigger tent, and be more welcoming."
Melina Roise agreed. She voted for Mary Finneran, who she hoped would fight for the Hudson Valley Power Authority Act, which would replace the county's existing energy company with a publicly-owned utility. Roise says she's tired of Democrats who she views as overly cautious. "I feel like the Democratic Party has been focused a long time on electability, and I think everyone's very scared of being called woke right now, because it's becoming a political dig. But I mean, we saw with Mamdani, and a lot of other people, that actually pushing something different and something more visionary can actually turn people out to vote in a way that can end up defeating a more established candidate. And I don't think we should be focused so much on electability, because what the Democrats think of as electability hasn't worked recently. So, might as well try something else!"
Janet Tweed, a physical therapist in Delhi, was the third Democratic candidate in the race. She was running for the second time. She won the primary in 2024, and ended up losing to a Republican in the general election. But she won again last night, defeating Boomhower and Finneran.
Compared to them, Tweed is a political veteran. She's been on Delhi's town council and board of trustees, and this will be her second statewide campaign. But she's also a millennial - something she says is relevant. "It is time for my generation to step up more and more. And it's also important that we're listening to everyone in every generation, not just those we feel comfortable with."
And when it comes to big ideas, Tweed says she's not afraid of them, especially when it comes to health care. "The system doesn't work. How do we fix it? The answer is single payer health care for all New Yorkers. And if we can do it in New York, we can do it throughout the US, because that's really where we need to go."
Back in Hudson, Sam Hodge's call for generational change ultimately fell short. Barrett, the incumbent, won over 70% of the vote, thanks largely to people who feel like she's a known quantity. Several voters told me Barrett had shown up on their doorsteps to personally ask for their support.
Matthew McNamara told me experience is important. "I know her. She's somebody that always shows up, and I think that's a key part. I think she wants what's best for me and her constituents."
But McNamara also acknowledged that Hodge's attacks on Barrett's record had been bruising. He didn't like how negative the campaign had become. "I'm so tired of seeing a positive ad for somebody, and then the next ad is a negative ad for that same person, put on by their opponent. But it seems to be the machine and the restraints that we have to work within."
Claudia Bruce also found the campaign somewhat disheartening. But it didn't stop her from voting. "I'm not terribly excited about either one," she said. "But I know that perfect person is going to come along, and it's going to just knock the socks off the world, and we're going to have peace and prosperity. I'm what's known as an optimistic pessimist."
