After more than four decades in the New York State Legislature, Republican State Senator Jim Tedisco seems on the brink of defeat.
While results from the New York State Board of Elections were unofficial Tuesday night, Democrat Sarah Rogerson led Tedisco by 5,404 votes, as of 2:32 a.m., with one election district still to report results.
Rogerson declared victory over the five-term senator overnight. In a statement released at about 1 a.m. Wednesday, Rogerson said she would be a "fighter" working to "address the crushing affordability crisis and uncertainty coming out of Washington" as part of a Democratic supermajority in the State Senate. According to Times Union projections, Democrats are poised to regain a two-thirds majority in the Senate after losing it in 2024.
Tedisco has not conceded the race against Rogerson.
Tedisco spent 17 terms in the state Assembly before replacing another Republican giant in state politics, Hugh Farley, in 2017. He has represented the 44th District in the Senate since 2023. Tedisco's tenure in the Assembly included two terms as the chamber's minority leader from 2005 to 2009.
Editor's note: Rogerson is a former WAMC commentator.
