The race for an open Assembly seat in Trump Country is getting an unusual amount of coverage because Republican Marc Molinaro has chosen to mount his political comeback in the district.

But Democrat Thomas Boomhower is hoping to disrupt the script and is running a longshot campaign, which will first require a primary win in June. He visited the studio to talk about the components of a potential upset, explain how his mom inspired him, and describe how he would serve in the Assembly.

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Now that campaign signatures have been collected and submitted for ballot access, we're entering the phase of the election calendar in New York when candidates wait to see if they'll withstand any administrative or legal challenges to their petitions.

To learn about this process we talked with Adam Fusco, one of the small cadre of election lawyers in the state, who explained how he looks for defects, navigating the courts, and why - despite primarily working for Republicans - he takes on Democratic clients in parts of New York City.

Plus, on The Capitol Pressroom, Adam discusses his work on behalf of GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, who is looking to compel the Public Campaign Finance Board to give him matching campaign funds.

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The general consensus is tha state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is the prohibitive favorite to be the Democratic nominee in November, when he seeks a fifth full term in office.

But we wanted to explore the variables and conditions that could lead to a Democratic outsider pulling off the biggest statewide upset in more than three decades, so we're checking in with Alex Elmasri, vice president of operations and growth for The Parkside Group.

Spoiler alert: The smart money is still on DiNapoli.

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