N.Y. Senate races: spending shows target districts

And an absentee ballot law is up for argument before the Court of Appeals next week.

Good afternoon — it’s Friday and World Egg Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Where are Democrats and Republicans focusing their spending in races for state Senate? We’ll tell you

• The Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in an absentee ballot law case next week

• And that’s all for today because I know some of you have a holiday weekend

---

(Will Waldron/Times Union)

🏛️ What’s going on in races for state Senate?

A lot of readers seemed to like a CapCon I put out a few weeks ago about state Senate races to watch so I’m going to give you another taste of that today.

Control of the state Senate isn’t really up for grabs this year. Since Democrats won a supermajority in the chamber in 2018, their numbers haven’t changed much. And going from the minority to a supermajority is a strong incentive for their candidates.

There also isn’t a wave of retirements this year and incumbents are always more likely to win — particularly during a presidential election year when turnout is usually at its highest.

The only committees that will need to be reassigned next year are the Senate Insurance and Consumer Protection Committees, currently chaired by outgoing Sens. Neil Breslin and Kevin Thomas, respectively.

But that could kick off a fun game of legislative musical chairs if someone leaves another committee open to move to one of those two. And if Democrats lose seats, that could shake things up, too.

So I dove into where the campaign arms of Democrats and Republicans in the state Senate most recently were sending their campaign cash.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

🔵 Where Senate Democrats are spending campaign cash

Democrats want to hold onto their firm majority in the state Senate this year and they’re putting the money where their mouth is.

Campaign filings this week show Senate Democrats have spent more than $3.4 million in support of 17 of their candidates — some of whom are facing a tough reelection.