A Special Master appointed by a Steuben County judge has removed Sullivan County from the 42nd Senatorial District and has placed the county in a redesigned 51st District.
The 42nd District seat has been held by Orange County resident Mike Martucci, a Republican, since he ousted Ulster County native Jen Metzger, a Democrat, in 2020. She held the seat for one term.
The new redistricting maps released earlier today, which have thrown multiple 2022 races into chaos, means that Sullivan will now join Chenango and Delaware Counties in the new district right up to the Broome County border. But none of Orange County or Ulster County will be part of the new District.
The existing 51st Senate District seat is held by Republican Peter Oberacker and is comprised of all or part of nine counties. Oberacker will now face a challenge from Democrat Eric Ball, a resident and town of Walton, NY trustee who was originally supposed to compete against Martucci.
In a statement late Monday, Oberacker, who took office in January 2021 , said: “I have said all along that I intend to run for re-election to the state senate and I reconfirm that commitment today. I am honored to serve the people of the 51st Senate District and look forward to continuing to stand up for the families and individuals I represent while forging new partnerships in neighboring counties.”
Before Metzger, the seat was held for 20 years by John Bonacic, who announced his retirement in April 2018.
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Map of the new 51st Senatorial District as proposed by a Special Master and released today.
On Tuesday, Martucci confirmed he is running for re-election in the newly-designed 42nd District, adding that whoever his opponent, "they will be outworked and out spent, and I will win in November."
