Democrats in New York currently hold a firm majority in the state Legislature and represent more than three-quarters of the state’s seats in Congress, but they’re hoping to grow their ranks in elected office this year through a series of toss-up races across the state.

Republicans have spent the last two years advocating for the opposite, and warning voters that total control by Democrats in New York and Washington, D.C., could leave some people behind.

In New York, Democrats have held total control over state government since the beginning of 2019, when a fresh class of state lawmakers took office following the prior year’s elections. The change was part of a national wave of Democrats winning office that year.

The State Assembly has been led by Democrats for decades, but the party has historically struggled to win control of the State Senate. They took the chamber briefly following the 2008 elections, but Republicans won it back two years later.

Now, Democrats hold 40 seats in the 63-member Senate. That’s given them a comfortable majority in the last two years to approve several long-sought measures, while allowing some moderate Democrats to vote against politically sensitive legislation at times.

That was the case last year, when Democrats in the state Legislature approved a bill to allow driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants in New York. Seven Democrats voted against the legislation, which still passed with a vote to spare.

Republicans are now trying to use the record of incumbent Democrats over the last two years to oust them from a handful of swing districts. They’re using the same message in an attempt to hold on to the 23 seats they won in the last election cycle.

Here’s a handful of races to watch on Election Day, and the weeks after, as the county boards of elections work to tally an unprecedented number of absentee ballots due to the COVID-19 crisis.

46th State Senate District

Hudson Valley | Montgomery and Greene Counties, Parts of Schenectady, Albany, and Ulster Counties

Republican George Amedore didn’t run for re-election this year, leaving the 46th State Senate District open.

Now, Democrats think they can pick it up through Michelle Hinchey, a native of upstate New York who was most recently a communications executive.

But the district is somewhat of a battle of name recognition, or name misrecognition depending on how you look at it.

Hinchey is the daughter of the late Rep. Maurice Hinchey, who represented part of upstate New York for more than two decades. Before that, he represented part of the Hudson Valley in the State Assembly for 18 years.

Her opponent is Richard Amedure, a Republican whose last name is one letter apart from the outgoing Amedore. His campaign’s signage and graphics have mirrored those of Amedore in what appears to be an attempt to connect the two Republicans.

Amedure, unlike Amedore, is a retired state trooper who describes himself as a longtime resident in Rensselaerville. He’s also owned a small farm in the district.

Bob Alft, a candidate from the Green Party, is also running in the district and will appear on the ballot. He’s a retired school bus driver and has participated in local activism events with groups like Veterans for Peace.

60th State Senate District

Western New York | Part of Erie County

The 60th State Senate District was left vacant earlier this year when Rep. Chris Jacobs, a Republican, won election to Congress. The district has been a toss-up in the past. Marc Paneptino, a Democrat, held it before Jacobs, and a Republican held it before Panepinto.

Assemblyman Sean Ryan, D-Erie, is running to fill the seat this year. Ryan first won his seat during a special election in 2011 and has been reelected to the Assembly in each election cycle since. He’s an attorney from Western New York with a history of representing nonprofit groups.

Joshua Mertzlufft, a Republican, is hoping to keep the seat in his party’s hands. He lives in Hamburg and works as an attorney at the prominent firm HodgsonRuss. His practice focuses on intellectual property, and he was previously an engineer.

22nd State Senate District

New York City | Part of Southern Brooklyn

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a Democrat, is hoping to fend off a challenge from Vito Bruno, a former nightclub owner who’s running on the Republican line.

Gounardes was elected two years ago after former Sen. Marty Golden, a Republican, retired after serving 15 years in the Senate. His seat was considered a toss-up at the time, and is competitive again this year.

Gounardes is the current chair of the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions in the Senate. He’s an attorney who previously served as counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. He co-founded the community services organization Bay Ridge Cares after Superstorm Sandy.

Bruno is the former owner of a nightclub in Brooklyn and previously ran for Brooklyn Borough President in 2017. He’s focused a large part of his campaign this year on his support for law enforcement after Democrats approved new laws on cash bail in recent years.

56th State Senate District

Finger Lakes | Part of Monroe County

State State Joe Robach, a Republican, has represented part of the city of Rochester and the surrounding communities since he first won election in 2002. He previously served in the State Assembly.

But Robach is retiring this year, leaving his seat open for the taking. And Democrats think they’ve got a good chance at taking it.

That’s because, according to the latest enrollment numbers from the state Board of Elections, registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 2-to-1. Robach’s evaded challenges due, in part, to his family’s presence in the area.

Jeremy Cooney, a Democrat, is running to fill the seat. He previously ran for Congress and worked for the late Rep. Louise Slaughter, an incredibly popular incumbent from the area. He’s currently an attorney.

Mike Barry Jr., a native of the town of Greece who serves on the town council, is running on the Republican line. He previously served as the executive director of the Rochester-Monroe County Youth Bureau, and is a former high school English teacher.

40th State Senate District

Lower Hudson Valley | Parts of Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester Counties

State Sen. Pete Harckham, a Democrat, is hoping to hold on to his seat this year, despite a tough challenge from former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.

Harckham was first elected to the State Senate in 2018, and is the current chair of the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. He previously worked in the Cuomo administration and was a member of the Westchester County Legislature.

Harckham has the advantage of running as an incumbent at a time when Democrats were able to push through much of their agenda during his first two years in office. It was the first time Democrats had control of the Senate in more than a decade.

Astorino, a Republican, has presented a formidable challenge to Harckham due to his popularity in the area, coupled with name recognition. Astorino was previously Westchester County Executive for seven years, during which he held the line on county property taxes.

He was defeated by current Westchester County Executive George Latimer, but he’s stayed relevant during that time. He’s appeared on CNN as a political commentator, and New Yorkers may also remember him from when he ran for governor against Cuomo in 2014.

50th State Senate District

Central New York | Parts of Onondaga and Cayuga Counties

Former State Sen. Bob Antonacci, a Republican, was elected to serve as a judge on the state Supreme Court last year. His seat, which represents largely rural areas surrounding the city of Syracuse, is considered a toss-up in this year’s elections.

John Mannion, a Democrat from Geddes, is running to replace Antonacci. He teaches biology at a public high school in Camillus. It’s not the first run for Mannion; he also ran against Antonacci two years ago, but lost by a few points.

Angi Renna, a financial planner who’s lived in the Syracuse area for more than two decades, is running on the Republican line. It’s her first run for office, but she’s been endorsed by Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon for the seat.

55th State Senate District

Finger Lakes | Parts of Ontario and Monroe Counties

Enrollment among Democrats and Republicans is neck-and-neck in the 50th State Senate District, which is currently represented by outgoing Sen. Richard Funke, a popular local newscaster who first took office in 2015.

The race to replace Funke is between Samra Brouk, a Democrat, and Christopher Missick, a Republican.

Brouk is a Rochester native and has worked for several years in business development with companies like Chalkbeat and Umbrella. She also joined the U.S. Peace Corps for a time and volunteered in Guatemala.

Missick has his own law firm in Geneva and is also a co-owner of Bellangelo Winery in Dundee. He’s a veteran who previously lived in the state of California at the start of his career as an attorney.

Long Island

Nassau and Suffolk Counties

Races for State Senate on Long Island have been competitive in the last few election cycles, during which the stronghold for Republicans has shifted into the hands of Democrats.

Sen. Ken LaValle, a Republican, is retiring from his seat in Suffolk County, leaving the door open for Democrats to clinch one of the last three remaining Republican seats on Long Island.

Former Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan also left office this year, leaving his seat in Suffolk County open. Flanagan was chosen to lead the Senate in 2015, but became the Republican leader in the minority when Democrats took the majority in 2019.

State Sen. Phil Boyle, the only Republican incumbent running this year on Long Island, is facing a challenge from Democrat Christine Pelligrino.

The remaining six seats are currently held by Democrats, who are fending off challenges from Republicans this year. Each seat is considered to be competitive, with four of the six Democrats first taking office after the 2018 elections.

19th Congressional District

Hudson Valley, Southern Tier, Catskills

Rep. Antonio Delgado, a Democrat, is facing a challenge this year from a handful of candidates, including Kyle Van De Water, an attorney running on the Republican line.

Delgado first took office last year after defeating former Rep. John Faso in a closely watched election. The district is considered competitive, but a special set of circumstances may lead Delgado to an easier-than-expected victory this year.

After Van De Water won the Republican primary in June, his opponent, Ola Hawatmeh, announced she would lead a write-in campaign for her candidacy. That campaign, while small, has gained steam in the district.

Green Party Candidate Steve Greenfield and Libertarian Candidate Victoria Alexander are also running for the seat.

22nd Congressional District

Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier

It’s a rematch in the 22nd Congressional District, where Rep. Anthony Brindisi, a Democrat, is being challenged by Claudia Tenney, a Republican who held the seat before him. Tenney lost the seat to Brindisi in the 2018 elections.

Both Brindisi and Tenney are former members of the State Assembly, where they served together for a number of years. Tenney departed to run for Congress in 2016 and won, fueled in part by President Trump’s candidacy.

The race is considered to be a toss-up again this year, though Brindisi has a lead in some of the latest polling. Libertarian Keith Price is also on the ticket this year.

11th Congressional District

Southern Brooklyn, Staten Island

Rep. Max Rose, another Democrat who was first elected to Congress in 2018, is facing a challenge from Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis, a popular Republican who ran for mayor of New York City against Bill de Blasio in 2017.

Rose ousted former Rep. Dan Donovan, a Republican, in a close election two years ago. He served in Afghanistan and was awarded a Purple Heart. He also worked in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office before he was elected to Congress.

Malliotakis has been a member of the State Assembly since 2013. She previously worked for both state Sen. John Marchi and Gov. George Pataki. She was the chair of Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign in New York four years ago.

24th Congressional District

Central New York

Rep. John Katko, a Republican, is facing another challenge this year from Dana Balter, a Democrat who ran against him in 2018.

Katko defeated former Rep. Dan Maffei, a Democrat, to first win the seat in the 2014 elections. He’s been reelected in each cycle since. There’s evidence that Katko has support from those outside the Republican party; Hillary Clinton won his district in 2016.

Dana Balter is a professor from Syracuse University, where she teaches at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She presented a strong challenge against Katko in 2018, losing the race by less than 5%.