Maps contain big changes for state Senate districts

By MAURY THOMPSON
Contributing writer

 

As state Sen. Daphne Jordan campaigns for a third term in office this fall, she might have to introduce herself to lots of new voters.

The Republican senator’s hometown of Halfmoon in Saratoga County is one of only a few towns she currently represents that would remain in the newly redrawn 46th Senate District under a plan approved in February by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

If the plan survives a court challenge, Jordan could face a tough race for re-election, as Democrats would have a significantly larger voter enrollment edge in the new 46th district than in the district that elected Jordan in 2018 and 2020.

Under the Legislature’s new maps, several incumbent state senators up and down the Hudson Valley would face major changes to their district boundaries. And many voters across the region would find their hometowns cast into new political terrain.

But Jordan’s district would face the most radical changes among any in the region.
Her old district included all of Columbia County, all of Rensselaer County except the city of Troy, the towns of Easton and Cambridge in Washington County, and the cities of Mechanicville and Saratoga Springs as well as eight towns from Waterford to Moreau in eastern Saratoga County.
In the new 46th district, she would no longer represent Columbia or Washington counties. In Rensselaer County, the district would include only the city of Troy. In Saratoga County, it would retain Mechanicville and Saratoga Springs as well as the towns of Halfmoon, Waterford, Wilton and Greenfield -- and would add the towns of Clifton Park, Ballston, Malta and Milton, which previously were in a separate Senate district. Finally, it would stretch west into Schenectady County, taking in the city of Schenectady and the suburban town of Niskayuna.

 

Shifting shapes
The state’s new legislative district map carved Columbia and Rensselaer counties, which previously were largely intact within Jordan’s district, into three separate Senate districts, each with favorable enrollment advantages for Democrats.

But these three newly configured districts also would have among the highest share of independent voters in the state, making them potential toss-ups in the November election – at least from the standpoint of voter enrollment. Two of the three districts would have more independent voters than Republicans.

Senate district maps in Saratoga and Washington counties would see changes too, while Warren County would remain intact within a North Country district under the once-a-decade redistricting plan that passed the Senate and Assembly along party lines. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the plan into law in early February, but a state judge ruled it unconstitutional on March 31. State Democratic officials say they’ll appeal.

If the new maps survive, the new 46th district, where Jordan is the only incumbent, would be more compact and more urban than her old district.

As of Feb. 21, the new district had about 74,000 active enrolled Democrats, accounting for nearly 37 percent of its registered voters, 55,200 Republicans, or 27.5 percent, and 55,700 independents, or 27.7 percent, with the remaining voters enrolled in minor parties.

In Jordan’s current district, Democrats hold a voter enrollment edge of 1 percentage point over Republicans, but the Democratic advantage would increase to nearly 9.5 percentage points in the new 46th district.

 

Spanning the Hudson
To the south, freshman Sen. Michele Hinchey, D-Saugerties, was elected in 2020 to represent a district that stretched along the west side of the Hudson River from Ulster to Montgomery counties.

Hinchey would become the incumbent in the new 48th Senate District, which would cross the Hudson to encompass the Columbia County communities of Kinderhook, Stuyvesant, Stockport, Hudson, Greenport, Germantown, Livingston, Taghkanic and Clermont, as well as three towns in Dutchess County. The district also would include all of Ulster and Greene counties and five towns in western Albany County.

The new 48th district would have about 89,600 Democrats, representing 39.6 percent of its active enrolled voters; 57,100 Republicans, or 25.2 percent; and 62,300 independents, or 28.4 percent. The Democratic enrollment advantage of 14.4 percentage points is the same as in the district Hinchey currently represents.

 

Mid-Hudson to Hoosick
Sen. Susan Serino, R-Hyde Park, is in her fourth term representing a district that includes all but two towns in Dutchess County as well as three towns in Putnam County.

Under the map enacted by the Legislature, Serino would become the incumbent in the new 43rd Senate District. The district wouldn’t include Putnam County but would extend northward from Dutchess County through the length of eastern Columbia and Rensselaer counties. In Columbia County, it would take in the towns of Gallatin, Ancram, Copake, Hillsdale, Claverack, Austerlitz, Ghent, Canaan, Chatham and New Lebanon. In Rensselaer County, it would cover Schaghticoke, Pittstown, Hoosick, Brunswick, Grafton, Petersburgh, Poestenkill, Sand Lake, Berlin, Nassau and Stephentown.

The new 43rd district has about 77,800 Democrats, representing 33.8 percent of its active voter enrollment, with 64,100 Republicans, or 29 percent, and 63,000 independents, or 28.5 percent. The Democratic edge of 4.8 percentage points over Republicans is less than the 10.8-point Democratic advantage in the district Serino now represents.

 

North Country seat
Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, would be the incumbent in the new 47th Senate District, which includes all of Warren, Washington, Essex, Clinton and Hamilton counties as well as the Saratoga County towns of Hadley, Day, Edinburg, Corinth, Moreau, Northumberland, Saratoga, Stillwater, Providence, Galway and Charlton. The district also takes in five towns in Fulton County.

The new 47th district would have about 58,800 Democratic voters, or 28 percent of its active enrollment, 86,400 Republicans, or 40.4 percent, and 50,600 independents, or 22.7 percent.
The Republican voter enrollment advantage of 12.4 percentage points over Democrats in the new district would be much greater than the 6.8-point GOP edge in the district Stec now represents.