Amir Gethers at Pat Hogan's election night watch party. Credit: Arthur Maiorella | Central Current

Amir Gethers just lost his Democratic primary bid to remain on the Common Council. But the Syracuse lawmaker now has his sights on a state senate seat.

Gethers plans to challenge State Senator Rachel May in 2026 for the 48th District, a seat May has held since 2023, he told Central Current. The popular state senator is currently serving her fourth term, and is widely endorsed by labor unions and other prominent local Democrats. 

May’s own political career began with a 2018 upset of the 58th District’s long-serving Democratic incumbent, David Valesky. A member of 10 senate committees, May chairs the Consumer Protection committee and the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for May confirmed she plans to seek re-election in 2026. 

“It’s not daunting to me at all,” Gethers said. “It’s all about just getting in front of people and just expressing your values and what you believe… that’s the game of politics, right?”

Gethers made history in 2021 as the youngest Black man ever elected to the Common Council, where he chairs the Public Works (DPW & Transportation) Committee. In his first re-election bid, Gethers lost to newcomer Hanah Ehrenreich in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election. Ehrenreich is a self-described democratic socialist. 

Ehrenreich and incumbent Rasheada Caldwell cruised to victory, each receiving more than 30% of the votes in a race that featured four candidates, according to tallies from the Onondaga County Board of Elections. 

The results mean Caldwell and Ehrenreich will appear as councilor-at-large candidates on the Democratic ballot line in the November general election. 

No Republican or independent candidates are challenging the Democratic candidates in that race, meaning Ehrenreich has effectively won Gethers’ seat. 

The democratic socialist’s successful upset bid reflected a larger progressive wave. Tuesday night saw a strong statewide showing for progressive politicians in New York, who outperformed many establishment candidates in the Democratic Party’s primary elections.  

Working Families Party-endorsed candidates won mayorships in Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and New York City. Syracuse Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens, who won the Working Families Party’s endorsement, routed councilors Pat Hogan and Chol Majok in the city’s mayoral primary. Owens earned nearly triple Hogan’s votes. 

The progressives claimed their biggest prize in New York City, where disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo conceded the primary contest to democratic socialist Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. 

Cuomo — like his father, former state governor Mario Cuomo, before him — is a storied name in the Democratic Party, which invested great effort and billions of dollars into this year’s primary. 

The victory of a democratic socialist over an establishment candidate like Cuomo, who once resided in the upper echelons of the Democratic Party, shocked the nation.

But Gethers doesn’t think the victories of progressive candidates around the state necessarily reflects a greater political swing to the left within the Democratic Party – or at least, not in Syracuse.

“Progressives vote for all different variations of political format. So I wouldn’t say that would be docking to me, but I do say that getting in front of those people that don’t know me, I think I can do a pretty good job with expressing myself and what are my views for state senate for our district,” Gethers said.

Gethers chalked up his third place finish to his lack of a campaign and credited Ehrenreich for her campaign efforts. He said the 16% of votes that he did receive were a promising sign that reaffirmed his chances in an uphill battle against May.

“I can only imagine what I can do if I did campaign and actually worked very, very hard and put my best foot forward for state senate,” Gethers said.

May has championed legislation on popular progressive issues like climate change and prison reform during her time in the senate. She has also supported New York’s ‘Good Cause’ Eviction legislation.

In his time at the Common Council, Gethers did not support the city opting into ‘good cause,’ a statewide bill aimed at protecting tenants. ‘Good cause’ has been lauded by local and state progressives and housing advocates. 

The mayoral candidate Gethers chose to back shared his stance. Hogan, who serves as the common council’s president pro tempore, was a vocal opponent of Good Cause, who received significant financial support from landlords throughout his campaign.

Ehrenreich, like Owens, is a supporter of Good Cause eviction. Both candidates were endorsed by Tenant Bloc, a local advocacy group for renters.

Gethers voted in February to withdraw Good Cause from the common council’s agenda, an effort that passed on a 5-4 vote and effectively froze the legislation.

Nevertheless, Gethers is optimistic that he can appeal to the 48th district’s voters and overcome Senator May’s well-established roots to pull off an upset.

In a statement provided to Central Current, May welcomed the news of her competition.

“I strongly believe that democracy only works if voters have choices, so if he joins I welcome Amir to the race and look forward to spirited debates about the future of the 48th district,” May said.

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Patrick McCarthy is a staff reporter at Central Current covering government and politics. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell and Newhouse Schools, McCarthy was born and raised in Syracuse and...