<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=183H7Z_1GzkCwvv00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=183H7Z_1GzkCwvv00" width="800" height="450" ><p>COHOES, N.Y. (WRGB) — There are only a couple hundred votes left to count for Senate District 43, not enough, according to Devin Lander, to prevent his victory.</p><p>He was recognized in Cohoes during its Veterans Day ceremony. "We're also joined by incoming New York State Senator Devin Lander," said Mayor Bill Keeler.</p><p>Contrasting the excitement to pins and needles suspense at his watch party, Lander is now confident to call himself senator-elect. "We are up 325 votes and there's about 240 left to count from Washington County. Statistically, we are ahead and we thought it would be good to declare that and let people know because a lot of people are wondering," explained Lander.</p><p>But to make sure that's the case, a recount of the votes will have to happen.</p><p>"If the threshold, especially for a state senate race, is between 0.5% between the two challengers, the state will then do an automatic recount which will then take some time to do," described Joe Bonilla, managing partner with Relentless Awareness. Bonilla added that the state has until December 15 to certify the results.</p><p>Lander already has a plan come January 1. "It's going to be looking at utility rates for me. I know there's others in the senate that are very concerned about that but being upstaters, we know the costs skyrocket in the winter especially. People that I've talked to at the doors are very concerned about being able to afford their heat."</p><p>Being Veterans Day, current Senator Jake Ashby posted on social media the following, which CBS6's Anthony Krolikowski read aloud to the senator-elect:</p><p>"I have a challenge for my colleagues in the state Legislature: remember the words you say today. They're even more important between January and June.</p><p>You'd never know it from the speeches you'll hear today, but so often even incremental progress for veterans faces opposition and ambivalence for years and years. It took seven years for the governor to sign legislation I wrote expanding immigration services for military families. It took almost my entire Assembly tenure to help make the Department of Veterans' Services a full-fledged, cabinet-level state agency. It took a comptroller audit, serious investigative journalism and two years of legislative fighting to get the administration to follow the law and release donated funds for veterans charities. There have been years the state increased spending by billions of dollars and couldn't find one additional cent for lifesaving, peer-to-peer counseling services.</p><p>The state spends twice as much money on the Office of Cannabis Management as the Office of Veterans' Services.</p><p>I believe there is a fundamental and sacred covenant citizens make with the people who agree to put their lives on the line to protect them. We must begin to honor it.</p><p>Today, I am reflecting on the profound sacrifices made by all of the Capital Region's veterans. Please know how grateful I am for your service."</p><p>Lander responded, "He makes a good point. I think we as a state need to invest in our veterans to the best of our ability and that's something that I will continue."</p><p>Watch the entire interviews with Devin Lander and Joe Bonilla below:</p><div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rI5pj_IRPNg?enablejsapi=1&version=3&playerapiid=ytplayer" frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div></div></body>

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COHOES, N.Y. (WRGB) — There are only a couple hundred votes left to count for Senate District 43, not enough, according to Devin Lander, to prevent his victory. He was recognized in Cohoes during its Veterans Day ceremony. "We're also joined by incoming New York State Senator Devin Lander," said Mayor Bill Keeler.

Devin Lander confident as senator-elect in race against Jake Ashby

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COHOES, N.Y. (WRGB) — There are only a couple hundred votes left to count for Senate District 43, not enough, according to Devin Lander, to prevent his vic

Devin Lander confident as senator-elect in race against Jake Ashby

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