State Assemblymember Didi Barrett is facing a Democratic primary challenge in New York’s 10th state Assembly District.
First elected in a special March 2012 contest, Barrett is the first woman and Democrat to represent the district, which consists of portions of Columbia and Dutchess counties.
“I’m very proud to have helped educate both my colleagues and the leadership in the state about how important our Hudson Valley is, and what our needs are,” Barrett said.
Her opponent, Sam Hodge, is an attorney who served as Columbia County’s Democratic Committee chair from 2021 to 2025.
“We registered thousands of Democrats and we turned Columbia County, which was a red county, into what’s now kind of royal blue,” Hodge said.
Both candidates told Spectrum News 1 their top priority is affordability, from childcare to housing and utility bills.
“Our constituents are really struggling with utility bills that are out of sight. I mean, we’re seeing [that] obviously at the gas pump too,” Barrett said.
“That’s affecting people in Poughkeepsie, and it’s affecting people in New Lebanon and Hudson and everywhere else,” Hodge said. “So we have to meet the moment.”
Hodge said he launched his campaign partly due to disappointment in Barrett, pointing to utility and fossil fuel PAC contributions to her campaign while serving as chair of the Assembly’s Energy Committee.
“My votes have never been for sale,” Barrett said, adding she’s passed legislation to protect ratepayers.
Hodge thinks it’s time for new voices in Albany with “bold solutions.”
“I want to be that person,” Hodge said.
Whoever wins will face Republican Gregory Campus in November.
New York’s primary elections will be held Tuesday, June 23. Early voting runs from June 13 to June 21.