The two Democratic challengers to Republican state Senator Jim Tedisco are Donovan McRae and Thearse McCalmon. Both want to give voice to the voiceless of the 49th state Senate District.
The district is enormous. It covers a sprawling area that spans from rural Fulton and Hamilton counties to the tiny horse breeding farms of Saratoga to inner city Schenectady.
What You Need To Know
- Republican state Senator Jim Tedisco has 2 Democratic challengers
- Both challengers are black and live in Schenectady
- Tedisco, who is white, was Assembly Minority Leader from 2005 – 2009
Both insurgent candidates say they value unity, and both say they want the seat to become more responsive to the needs of the black community.
But that’s where their similarities end: McRae is a relative newcomer and “regular guy” while McCalmon is a long-time activist, former mayoral candidate and mother of four.
“These are things that I’ve been fighting for in my community for over 20 years now, and I think that he (McRae) would have been like, five,” McCalmon said of her rival.
McRae, who is in his 20s, has no problem with that.
“You know, it’s true. I don’t have the activism experience or the campaign experience," he said. "Not only is this my first campaign, I went to my first protest yesterday. This is my point. I’m a regular guy.”
McRae, who owns a branding company, said his top priority is funding education. He’s also interested in bringing the district together, which long-time legislator Jim Tedisco has not done, he argues.
“We need more voices of reason in the legislature," McRae said. "We need to be able to come to the table, recognize each other’s differences and figure out how we can best represent New Yorkers of every single stripe."
McCalmon, who was once homeless and now has multiple college degrees, said her priority is universal healthcare, which she believes will open the door to equity.
“Once we get the New York Health Act passed, there are so many things that will definitely fall into place that all of us know that we need,” McCalmon said.
Both insurgent candidates insist that Republican incumbent, Jim Tedisco, has been in office for too long.
A bit of history: Tedisco replaced long-time state Senator Hugh Farley after Farley’s retirement in 2017. Prior to that, Tedisco served in the Assembly from 1993 to 2017. For a four-year span, between 2005 and 2009, he served as Assembly minority leader.
Following then Senator Hillary Clinton’s ascension to the Obama administration to serve as secretary of state, and Governor David Paterson’s decision to tap Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Clinton’s Senate seat, there was a tense special election to fill the congressional seat Gillibrand had left behind. Tedisco ran a tough campaign against self-funded venture capitalist and first-time campaigner Scott Murphy, but lost the race.
After the special election loss, Tedisco stepped down from his Assembly leadership post.
“Senator Tedisco has been in office for longer than I’ve been alive,” muses McRae. “He’s a divider. Even during the coronavirus, the first couple of days during the riots that were going on, he’s chosen to take shots at the governor. Political shots on his response to the coronavirus.”
McCalmon was more direct.
“Mr. Tedisco has been in politics for almost 28 years now," she said. "I think he’s an octogenarian, photo-op, pontificating representative. During the pandemic, every single day we made thousands of phone calls to people just to check in and say, ‘are you ok? Do you need anything? Do you just want to vent?' What was he doing, checking ticks on his cat?”
Senator Tedisco, who is 69 years old, sent a statement to Spectrum News, which in part reads, "when the people’s final choice for a Democratic candidate is made by voters in the June 23rd primary, I look forward to a discussion on the differences between our agendas to protect and enhance the unique quality of life we have in our area and in Upstate New York.”
Eleven Republican state senators have announced they will not seek another term, including Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan.
The 49th Senate District has a slight, 36.3- 31.2 percent Republican voter enrollment edge.