Democrats across much of New York City – and Republicans in a small patch of Staten Island and Brooklyn – will soon get the chance to pick their party’s candidate for New York State Senate.
, New York’s state Senate and congressional primaries will be held Aug. 23rd. To some voters, that may be a surprise – the state held a separate primary for statewide and Assembly races less than two months ago.
“A lot of people are confused about the multiple primaries – I cannot lie about that, and we realize that,” said Candis Tall, vice president and political director for 32BJ SEIU, a powerful labor union that has been active on the Senate campaign trail. “But that's why it's super important for us to talk to our members, especially, early and continuously. We're talking to them as much as we can to remind them that there is a second primary coming.
The congressional races have dominated the headlines. But there are also 12 Democratic Senate primaries across the five boroughs, including a where incumbent state Sen. Gustavo Rivera faces a party-backed challenge from attorney Miguelina Camilo.