Hudson Valley voters get another chance to weigh in on close 2018 state Senate race

Hudson Valley voters will get another chance to weigh in on a close 2018 state Senate race.
Back then, the race for the 41st Senate district, which is made up of parts of Dutchess and Putnam counties, was decided by a few hundred votes.
Incumbent Republican state Sen. Sue Serino and her challenger, Democrat Karen Smythe, are both back on the ballot. In 2018, Serino edged Smythe by 600 votes to win reelection.
This is what they say they would focus on this term:
"It's all about COVID, small businesses ... they need help, and we're sitting on $2.5 million in Cares Act funding that could help people right now," says Serino.
"The climate crisis is upon us. We need to be doing everything we can to address the climate crisis ... and again, I'm particularly focused on women's rights," says Smyth.
As for their stances on health care:
"What they're talking about with this New York Health Act, it would raise taxes 150%...so on a state-by-state level, it's really hard to do that. In order to do something like that, it would have to be done on a federal level," says Serino.
"We need to provide people with an opportunity to access affordable quality health care that isn't necessarily attached to your employment. And I do think that's something we can do on a state level. We can do better than what we're doing now. It would be better if it's done on a federal level," says Smythe.
And the crime reform bill:
"We have to just repeal the bill and have people that have skin in the game - law enforcement, child victims' advocates, domestic violence advocates - they all need to be part of that conversation," says Serino.
"When you have that kind of major change in a system, do you need to look at what the results are and look to make changes and adjustments to make it better? Absolutely. But to say we are letting criminals out of jail is just wrong," says Smythe.