Harris candidacy impacts other races

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The 2024 presidential election continued to see developments this week when President Joe Biden made the historic announcement that he would not seek reelection. Attention turned to Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic candidate.

This week on Empire State Weekly, Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat representing the 104th District, explained the presidential race has an impact on other races down the ballot. Jacobson believed that the change in the Democratic candidate gave other candidates a better chance of winning their races in November.

"This gives everybody a better shot I spoke to some candidates on the local level, some state level and I told them as of noon on Sunday they didn't have a shot these were challengers for their races and I said though by two o'clock they all had a shot," said Jacobson.

Also this week, the announcement of two prison closures caused concern as some worried about the impact this would have to correction employees. Daniel Martuscello the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision explained that the closure of the Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County and the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Sullivan County came after a vetting process. He also said the closures, have the goal of improving the lives of corrections workers

"There's really a shortage around correctional staff and that's why we're moving forward with closures this year is that we need to give the hard-working men and women that work in these institutions relief consolidate our resources and allow for them to have that work-life balance," said Martuscello.

To see these interviews and more, here is a list of how you can watch Empire State Weekly in your area of New York: