Here are 6 key state Senate/Assembly races to watch on Long Island

All 213 seats in the New York State Legislature are on the ballot next week, including nine Senate and 22 Assembly districts on Long Island.

Democrats overwhelmingly control each house, so control of Albany isn’t up for grabs. But they are trying to maintain their two-thirds "veto-proof majority" in the Assembly and attain similar in the Senate by netting at least one seat on Election Day.

Some of those battles are set in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The dynamics play into campaign arguments for either side: Democrats say they can get more done for Island districts, in terms of bills approved or grants attained, while Republican power is limited.

Republicans say they provide a bulwark against a Democratic majority and a New York City-based agenda and could sustain vetoes if the GOP wins the governor’s race.

Here are six state legislative contests to watch on the Island:

Senate District 7

This probably is one of the most-watched legislative races in the state because the district has flipped more than once over the years and incumbent Sen. Jack Martins (R-Old Westbury) isn’t running for reelection.

The race: Assemb. Jake Blumencranz (R-Oyster Bay), 30, against Great Neck Democrat Rory Lancman, a board member of Nassau University Medical Center, a former vice chairman of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority and former Queens assemblyman.

The district: It covers northwestern Nassau County and covers parts of North Hempstead, Hempstead and Oyster Bay. It has about 82,000 Democrats; 67,000 Republicans and 75,000 voters not enrolled in any party.

It has flipped parties four times in the last generation. And it’s a seat Democrats are targeting for a "pickup" this year. But Republicans also are making it a priority to hold the seat, especially being aggressive with mailers to households, claiming Lancman will be beholden to city interests.

Senate District 9

The race: Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-Rockville Centre), 61, against Democrat Lisa Vider, 48, a healthcare executive from Hewlett Bay Park.

The district: Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district, 95,000 to 69,000. Another 62,000 voters aren’t enrolled in any party. Despite the numbers, it’s been a reliably GOP seat except for the six-run incumbency of Todd Kaminsky, who left office in 2022. It covers the southeast corner of Nassau County.

Though state Democratic committees hadn’t put the race on the list, Vider has put it on the watch list by raising and spending a lot on the campaign. She far outspent the Republican over the summer and even had nearly $300,000 in her campaign account with two weeks to go before election.

Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick also had about $200,000 on hand and also generated help from GOP allies. In just the last three weeks, the Nassau County Republican Committee recently reported spending $53,000 and the State Senate Republican Campaign Committee another $107,000.

The Republican said she has been effective in landing state grants for the district and helped stop a Long Beach offshore wind-power project. Vider said a Democrat is better positioned to actually pass legislation and that, as a suburban lawmaker, she would bring a moderate voice to the Senate Democratic conference.

Assembly District 3

The race: Assemb. Joe DeStefano (R-Medford), 66, versus Joshua Slaughter, 43, a labor leader from Shirley who has raised more campaign money than the incumbent.

The district: Divided almost evenly by Democrats (28,000), Republicans (27,000) and independents (28,000). It covers a sliver of Suffolk’s South Shore, from just north of Yaphank to Mastic Beach and west of Bellport to Medford.

It’s flipped in recent years and had its share of political snafus — such as the time Republicans admitted attaching a GPS tracker to the car of Democrat Assemb. Ed Hennessey because they didn’t believe he actually resided in the district.

Republicans acknowledge they are concerned about the seat. As an example, the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee spent money on just one race in October — this one ($74,710 on his behalf).

Assembly District 4

The race: Assemb. Rebecca Kassay (D-Port Jefferson), 37, against Republican Will Sussman, 27, also of Port Jefferson.

The district: Features 33,000 Democrats, 27,000 Republicans and 30,000 independents. It runs generally diagonally from Coram to Setauket to Long Island Sound. Republicans held it briefly, for two years, before Kassay won it in 2024.

Sussman has been running on tax and law-enforcement issues. Kassay is touting her record of accomplishments from getting funding to repair storm damage to boosting homeowner grants for installing advanced septic systems.

Assembly District 16

The race: Democrat Kim Keiserman, 55, a former teacher from Port Washington versus Republican David Hassid, 23, who worked as an aide to the current officeholder, Assemb. Daniel Norber, who isn’t running for reelection.

The district: Covering the far northwest corner of Nassau, it has 37,000 Democrats, 27,000 Republicans and 33,000 independents. Norber broke a Democratic lock on this district in 2024 and Republicans believe that victory can vault Hassid.

But Keiserman and Dems have raised a lot of money to take it back. Whereas RACC didn’t report spending on Hassid’s race in October, the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee transferred $120,110 to Keiserman’s account and spent another $332,000 on her behalf.

Keiserman has made affordability, public safety and stormwater infrastructure campaign priorities. Hassid has focused on income tax cuts and repeals of some criminal-justice laws, including one limiting the use of bail.

Assembly District 21

The race: Assemb. Judy Griffin (D-Rockville Centre), 63, against Republican Irene Villacci, 62, a Lynbrook native who is an attorney and director of the county’s Office of Community Development.

The district: It covers a southwest pocket of Nassau, including Baldwin, Lynbrook, Malverne and south Hempstead. It has 42,000 Democrats, 29,000 Republicans and 27,000 independents. Griffin won the seat in 2018, lost it in 2022 and won it back in 2024.

Griffin has campaign on affordability and bringing down utility rates and champions her record, as a Democrat in the house majority, of bringing the district state funding for schools, municipalities and fire districts.

Villacci said she’d work to repeal bail laws, stop the impact of congestion pricing (the toll on car travel to Manhattan) and would "work to hold the line on taxes and make state government as efficient and cost-effective as possible."