Michelle Hinchey (born November 3, 1987) is an American politician serving as a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

for the 46th district. Elected in November 2020, she assumed office on January 1, 2021.

Early life and education

Hinchey, the daughter of former Congressman

Maurice Hinchey Maurice Dunlea Hinchey (October 27, 1938 – November 22, 2017) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York and was a member of the Democratic Party. He retired at the end of his term in January 2013 after 20 ...

and Ilene Marder Hinchey, was born in 1987 in Saugerties. After graduating from

Saugerties High School Saugerties High School is a public high school in Saugerties, New York, United States. Notable alumni * Jimmy Fallon (1992) – comedian, host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an Ameri ...

, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Career

Hinchey worked as a communications executive and served on the board of the

Catskill Center for Conservation and Development The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, usually referred to as the Catskill Center, is a not-for-profit organization based in Arkville, New York, United States. It works to preserve the natural environment of the Catskill region an ...

. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, Hinchey announced she would run for the 46th district of the

, which was being vacated by retiring Republican

George Amedore George A. Amedore Jr. (born April 2, 1969) is an American homebuilder, businessman, and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician. Amedore formerly represented the New York's 46th State Senate district, 46th district in the New Yor ...

. After winning the Democratic primary unopposed, Hinchey narrowly defeated Richard Amedure, her Republican opponent and George Amedore's distant cousin, by a margin of 51–49%. Hinchey took office in January 2021 as part of the first Democratic Senate

supermajority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...

in decades. Hinchey also serves as chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, and introduced legislation establishing a farm soil health program advocated by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at her alma mater, Cornell University. After Congressman

Antonio Delgado Antonio Ramon Delgado (born January 28, 1977) is an American attorney and politician serving as the lieutenant governor of New York since 2022. He previously served as the U.S. representative from New York's 19th congressional district. He is th ...

was selected to serve as

lieutenant governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket wit ...

in May 2022, Hinchey was mentioned as a possible candidate in a special election to fill his vacant House seat.

References

1987 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Cornell University alumni Living people New York (state) Democrats People from Saugerties, New York Women state legislators in New York (state) {{NewYork-NYSenate-stub