Albany watch: Week may bring clarity to fall contests

New Yorkers will learn a lot about this fall's political races over the next seven days.

Upstarts aiming to challenge party-backed candidates must submit petition signatures by Thursday to try to get on the ballot. On a statewide level, the question is whether Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu will file sufficient petitions to challenge Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and lieutenant governor candidate Kathy Hochul, respectively, in Democratic primaries.

For the State Senate, the focus will be on whether members of the Independent Democratic Conference will face primary challenges, especially group leader Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx).

Next Monday is the deadline for a candidate to accept or decline a party's nomination. -- Yancey Roy