By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
RENSSELAERVILLE — Republican Richard Amedure announced Tuesday he will challenge Democratic incumbent state Sen. Michelle Hinchey to a rematch.
Hinchey defeated Amedure by a slim margin of about 3,000 votes in the 2020 election to win her first term in the 46th Senate District.
With the district’s lines redrawn through redistricting this year, Hinchey now represents a newly reconfigured district — the 48th Senate District.
The 48th District covers all of Greene and Ulster counties, and parts of Albany and Columbia counties.
Amedure, an Army veteran and retired New York state trooper, runs a small family farm in Rensselaerville, where he also served on the town’s planning board.
“The 48th Senate District needs a representative who is not only experienced, but is a proven fighter,” Amedure said. “I have a long history of serving the communities of the 48th Senate district, my state and my nation. I have always fought for what I believe in throughout my entire career, and I will continue to do so in the state Senate.”
Amedure said that if elected, he will work to steer the state in a new direction.
“There is no question — our state is moving in the wrong direction,” Amedure said. “This district, and our state, need a commonsense voice that will help lead New York state back in the right direction and stand up against the radical, unaffordable policies coming from Albany politicians.”
Hinchey defeated Amedure the first time around in 2020 to replace three-term Republican incumbent state Sen. George Amedore, who did not run for re-election.
Hinchey stated on her re-election campaign website that she ran for office in 2020 pledging she would serve as an advocate for upstate communities.
“I am proud that over my first two years in office I have been able to deliver on that promise and am a strong voice for our upstate communities,” Hinchey said. “In my first year alone, my office and I passed over 30 bills with broad bipartisan support on important issues ranging from expanding health care and broadband access to making agriculture a key partner in the fight against climate change.”
The district lines were redrawn this year and the newly formed 48th state Senate district leans more heavily Democratic than the previous 46th district.
Voters in the former 46th district cast ballots for Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election in higher numbers than the new 48th district — with 52.3% of voters in the former district voting for Biden and 57.8% of voters in the new 48th district casting ballots for the Democrat.
Similarly, in the former 46th district, 47.7% of voters chose former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, while 42.2% did so in the newly formed 48th district.
