A number of state legislative primaries are on the ballot Tuesday, and that includes a race in Syracuse that highlights some of the Democratic Party’s generational and ideological divides.
Longtime state Assemblymember Bill Magnarelli is facing a progressive challenger in Onondaga County Legislator Maurice Brown.
Magnarelli has the backing of Gov. Kathy Hochul. Brown is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. The DSA received a boost with the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City and hopes to build on that momentum there and upstate.
This is not a matter of copy-and-paste, however, when it comes to campaigning.
Libby Post, managing partner at Albany-based Progressive Elections, cautions those candidates may need to tailor their message.
“If you're going to try to do that in upstate New York, you also, however, need to understand the electorate you're talking to," she said. "It's not the same as New York City."
Outside of New York City, Democratic assemblymembers are also facing challengers in Rochester and the Hudson Valley. A three-way race for an open seat in Buffalo features a party loyalist against a democratic socialist and a relative newcomer.
Early voting is underway and runs through Sunday.
Some of the upstate races are exposing party tensions over how to best reach voters on issues like affordability.
“The folks that we expected to just respond to a Democratic message, you know, that we've all been banking on might not be responding," Post said. "The party needs to look at its messaging out to the people, and how they can bring more people back to the Democratic Party."
Magnarelli has served in the Assembly since the late 1990s and said his experience is an asset to the region. He is the Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman and also touts improvements in housing and education.
“I think that's something that my constituents can see,” Magnarelli said in an interview. “They know what I've done, they don't know what my challenger has done.”
Brown said he fought waste in government spending and pushed for more transparency in government in his time on the Onondaga County Legislature. He thinks Magnarelli is standing in the way of change.
“I think that his experience could be used to lead on things like taxation, could be used to lead on things like housing, like climate, but he's not used it in that manner,” Brown said.
The winner of the primary will likely prevail in November, as there is no Republican candidate for the seat.
