Sitting Legislator Rachel Barnhart prevailed in this race, which has a bit of a quirk. Barnhart currently represents the 21st Legislative District but following redistricting she moved to the 17th District, which she’s all but certain to represent after the general election in November, where she has no challenger.
She got 63% of the vote defeating Allan Richards, a longtime aide to Assemblymember Harry Bronson and the Monroe County Democratic Committee’s designated candidate.
Barnhart is seeking her third term in the Legislature. During her campaign she’s been highlighting a handful of accomplishments, from working across the aisle to pass ethics legislation to working with the Bello administration on the Food Delivery Fairness Act, legislation that curbs services like GrubHub from taking orders for restaurants without their permission and cooperation.
She also co-sponsored legislation requiring cars to leave a three-foot buffer when they pass cyclists, which the Legislature approved. And she broke ranks with her caucus to work with Legislature President Sabrina LaMar on advancing a redistricting plan that ultimately yielded a map with six Black majority districts in the city. Barnhart voted for the final negotiated plan, but also criticized it for protecting incumbents.
