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GOP's newly created Senate seat gets challenge

New York Senate Democrats are quietly pinning their hopes on an underdog campaign in a new legislative district drawn by Republicans specifically to protect their Senate majority. WAMC’s Dave Lucas reports.

For Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk the task is daunting against George Amedore a veteran assemblyman. He had been considered a sure thing under the Republicans' redistricting plan. The Senate's 63rd seat carefully snakes from Montgomery County to Ulster County.

Yet, the race has drawn little attention since Amedore announced his bid in the spring and Democrats see support in Ulster County, which accounts for about a third of the district's voters. The battleground also has more Democratic voters and the party says they may pull off an Election Day upset.

Republicans are confident they'll prevail in November.

© 2012 Associated Press

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.