There are two hotly contested primaries happening this Tuesday in our fair City's core, both of which feature young, Progressive reformers going up against well-established incumbents. In one case, we have Paul Newell and Luke Henry taking on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, in what Errol Louis called the most important race in this state; in the other, former Senate Minority Leader Marty Connor is in the fight of his life against Progressive challenger Daniel Squadron.

Here's a map: light blue is the 64th AD, red, the 25th Senate District.

The Working Families Party has taken positions in both races. In the SD-25 race, they're backing Dan Squadron, saying:

"This district is in need of a State Senator who will champion responsible development and shake things up in Albany. Daniel Squadron has a proven record of fighting for change," said Rocky Chin a member of the Chinatown/Lower East Side Club of the Working Families Party.

In the AD-64 race, by contrast, WFP stuck with Silver, arguing:

[T]he most reliable force in state politics for progressives over the last decade has been the Assembly Democrats led by Silver. He may be among the more uncharismatic politicians in world history, but it would be folly to mistake his lack of glitter for a lack of nerve.

Context is important. Over the 12 long years of drought otherwise known as the Pataki Administration, when the Governor and the Republican Senate Majority Leader (Joe Bruno) would combine to offer ever more right-wing answers to New York's problems, only Silver had the backbone to say no. Unlike some Democrats at the federal level, he refused to blink. He was an obstructionist of the best kind - holding out, month after month and year after year - not only standing in the way of the right, but forcing Pataki and the Senate to make concessions to the left.

What's going to be interesting in the actual election GOTV is the messaging. In the Connor-Squadron race, WFP can make a very simple change argument; it's always a change when a long-term incumbent is tossed out, not requiring much by way of explanation. In the AD-64 race, by contrast, they'll need to make the argument that change is less important than experience.

I'm looking forward to seeing the palm cards from the overlapping parts of the two districts.