Arts & Culture

State Senate primary recap: Cooney leads in 56th, Berger in 61st

WXXI News

Published June 23, 2020 at 11:38 PM EDT

Candidates in the 56th State Senate District Democratic primary (left to right): Jeremy Cooney, Hilda Rosario Escher, and Sherita Traywick.

Two local State Senate districts, the 56th and 61st, each have Republican incumbents who are not seeking re-election, but the primaries in those districts are for Democratic and Independence candidates.

In the 56th State Senate District, where Joe Robach is not seeking re-election, there is a three-way race for the Democratic nomination. The most current figures show Jeremy Cooney leading with 45% of the vote, followed by Sherita Traywick with 29% and Hilda Rosario Escher with 27% after counting the votes that were made in person today and during early voting. The final results won’t be known until after June 30, when all the absentee ballots can be counted.

While the winner will face Mike Barry in November’s general election, Cooney will appear on the ballot on the Working Families Party line.

The district is entirely in Monroe County and includes the towns of Brighton, Clarkson, Gates, Greece, Hamlin, and Parma, and the Charlotte, Maplewood and University of Rochester neighborhoods in the city of Rochester.

Candidates in the 61st State Senate District Democratic primary (left to right): Kim Smith, Jacqui Berger, Joan Elizabeth Seamans.

In the 61st District, where Michael Ranzenhofer is not seeking re-election, there are primaries for the Democratic and Independence party nominations. The Monroe County portion of the district includes the towns of Chili and Riga, the village of Churchville and the Genesee-Jefferson, 19th Ward, South Wedge, Highland Park, and Strong Hospital neighborhoods in the city of Rochester. It also includes all of Genesee County and some of Buffalo’s eastern suburbs.

In the Democratic primary, Jacqui Berger leads with 3,445 votes, followed by Kim smith with 2,914 and Joan Elizabeth Seamans with 2015.

In the Independence primary, Ed Rath leads Andrew Gruszka 243-122, although Rath is the Republican, Conservative, and Save America Movement candidate in November’s general election; Brian Curran is the Working Families candidate.

These totals are after counting the votes that were made in person today and during early voting. The final results won’t be known until after June 30, when all the absentee ballots can be counted.