Gay Lee campaigns for NY Senate District 39 ahead of primary
Orange County Democrats backed Evan Menist, but Gay Lee is leaning on Newburgh ties and attorney Michael Sussman in the District 39 primary.
A state Senate seat in Albany helps decide school aid, housing policy, public safety funding, transportation priorities and taxes in Orange County, and that is the prize as three Democrats finish their race in District 39. Gay Lee, Lisa Kaul and Evan Menist are competing for the nomination that would send one of them into a November matchup with Republican incumbent Rob Rolison. District 39 covers most of Dutchess County and parts of Orange and Putnam counties, including the city and town of Newburgh.
Lee has tried to make that Orange County foothold matter. She is a former Newburgh City Councilwoman and longtime social worker, and she has leaned on a reputation built over more than 30 years in community work. Ballotpedia also lists prior candidacies for Newburgh City Mayor in 2018 and Newburgh City Council in 2023, a sign that her campaign is drawing on a familiar local profile as she seeks a seat that reaches well beyond the city.
The race has also taken on a sharper party edge in Orange County. Orange County Democrats endorsed Menist ahead of the primary, and Lee has questioned how thoroughly that endorsement was vetted. She has highlighted support from Orange County attorney Michael Sussman as she presses her case to voters in a district where Newburgh could be decisive and where local party backing has become part of the fight.
Voting is already underway in Orange County, where early voting for the June 23 primary runs through June 21. Polling places are scheduled to be open on primary day from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., giving voters a full day to cast ballots before the nomination is settled. The county Board of Elections also kept its office open until 8 p.m. on June 15 and June 16 and on both weekends during early voting from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The winner will face Rolison, who assumed office on Jan. 1, 2023, in a district that spans from Dutchess County into Orange and Putnam counties. For Lee, the final stretch is a test of whether Newburgh credibility and a record in local politics can carry her past Kaul and Menist and into a general election that will decide who represents Orange County in the State Senate.
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