Republicans hold North Country Senate, Assembly seats in unofficial results
Republican incumbents and candidates were leading or won three North Country legislative races in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election, while results remained unofficial.
By Jessica Hale, ClickNNY North Country Desk
Republicans appear to have retained three North Country legislative seats following the Nov. 3 general election, based on unofficial results and race calls. The results affect representation in the state Senate and Assembly for residents across parts of Northern New York.
In the 49th Senate District, incumbent Republican Mark Walczyk defeated Democrat Cassie Robbins-Forbus with 69% of the vote, according to an Associated Press race call cited in election coverage. Unofficial totals reported for the race were 61,330 votes for Walczyk and 28,088 for Robbins-Forbus.
Republican Tammie Nabywaniec was declared the winner over Democrat Dennis Gordon in the 117th Assembly District. Unofficial results put Nabywaniec at about 69% and Gordon at 31%. Nabywaniec is set to succeed Republican Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush, who is retiring after eight terms. She previously served as Blankenbush’s chief of staff and stepped down to run for the seat.
In the 45th Senate District, incumbent Republican Dan Stec was ahead of Democratic challenger Melissa Seale in unofficial totals, 53,738 votes to 43,576. The district includes eastern St. Lawrence County. Stec has held the seat since 2021, after succeeding Betty Little. He previously served in the Assembly and as Queensbury town supervisor.
Walczyk has represented the 49th Senate District since 2023. Robbins-Forbus is a Lewis County native and a grant writer for Samaritan Medical Center. Seale is a psychiatric nurse practitioner from Glens Falls. Mountain Lake PBS hosted a debate between Stec and Seale on Oct. 8.
The 49th and 117th districts are North Country seats. The 116th Assembly District, which includes northern St. Lawrence County communities such as Potsdam and Canton, also had Republican Scott Gray running unopposed. Democrats were reported to hold majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature before the election.
The election totals remain unofficial and may change as absentee and mailed ballots are counted. The State Board of Elections will certify the results. St. Lawrence County posts election-result summaries through its Board of Elections website.PDF), while Jefferson County results are available through its election results portal.
Reported by ClickNNY and reviewed by an editor before publication.
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