Here are 8 NYS lawmaker races to watch

Empire State voters heading to the polls on Tuesday will get the chance to pick their representatives in the New York State Legislature for the next two-year term — with several races to watch in the city and beyond.Every seat in the state Senate and Assembly are up for grabs this year, but in firmly blue New York State there’s no danger for the Democratic Party that either chamber of the legislature will fall out of its control.Still, there are races of interest across the state as voters cast ballots in all 63 Senate districts and 150 Assembly districts, including in southern Brooklyn which has trended red in a sea of blue in recent years.Here are eight races to watch:Republican incumbent Steve Chan, a retired cop, is facing off against Democrat Larry He in the heavily Asian district that has trended red in 2022 and 2024 with Republicans Lee Zeldin and President Trump easily carrying the district in the race for governor and the White House, respectively.Chan won two years by defeating Democratic incumbent Iwen Chu.He is a Democratic district leader who worked for former Gov.Andrew Cuomo and Assemblyman William Colton, and has portrayed himself as a moderate.The race drew headlines after a 73-year-old campaign volunteer for Chan was arrested for allegedly slapping a He campaign aide last week.Former City Councilman Rory Lancman (D), who moved into the district a few years ago, is facing off against Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz (R) to replace Sen.

Jack Martins, a Republican who didn’t seek reelection.Martins had served two stints in the Senate and reclaimed his former seat by defeating Democratic incumbent Anna Kaplan in 2022.He then won reelection two years ago in the swing district, which was carried by Zeldin and Trump in the last two election cycles.Republican incumbent Bill Weber faces a tough challenge from Democrat Joseph Rand, who is now the mayor of the village of Nyack on the banks of the Hudson River.Weber turned the seat red in 2022 by defeating...