Sarah Rogerson

Sarah Rogerson earned a high school diploma from Coldwater High School, a bachelor's degree from Hillsdale College, and a law degree from the Seton Hall University School of Law. She also graduated from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. Her career experience includes working as a law professor.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a public interest attorney representing protesters and immigrants, a law professor, and an organizer helping lead New York’s resistance to MAGA extremism. As a family member of a school shooting victim, I also advocate for community-based gun violence prevention. I’ve worked with allies like the New York Immigration Coalition and Columbia County Sanctuary Movement to help draft key legislation protecting immigrant communities and the rule of law.

I founded Albany Law School’s Immigration Law Clinic and now lead the Edward P. Swyer Justice Center, training the next generation of public interest lawyers to serve on the front lines. Throughout my career, I’ve stepped into urgent fights—defending First Amendment protesters, supporting my family and neighbors after a mass shooting, organizing low-income housing co-ops, and mobilizing national legal teams to protect refugee families in New York.

During COVID, I served on the Niskayuna School Board, helping guide public schools through crisis while advancing priorities like electric buses and safe firearm storage.

Now I’m running for State Senate because working families in Saratoga and Schenectady counties need a principled fighter—not just to stand up to MAGA corruption, but to build a safer, more just future for all.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Representation is important, and in the case of working mothers, urgent. As a working mother who cares deeply about reproductive rights and care for people of all gender expressions, the connection between healthcare costs and affordability issues, could not be more pressing. Ensuring that care work across all caring professions (teaching, nursing, child care) is valued enough to pay care workers a living wage competitive with the benefits they provide society is essential. We need working mothers in elected offices at the state and local level, because women generally only comprise about a third of elected office on the state and federal level, despite making up half of the population.Every child and family deserves a chance to thrive. For most of my career, I have represented children and families fleeing government oppression and/or systemic poverty. As a first generation attorney living my values in a profession that would ordinarily be unattainable for me without my parents’ escape from the grip of generational poverty, I am acutely aware of the toll that takes.

Substance dependency and other mental health struggles abound and it is essential that we invest in the social safety net for children and adults, giving everyone a fair shot, or a second chance, to succeed. Anti-poverty programs are essential and I will be focused on the key determinants of health and how every law passed either enriches or depletes them.Kindness matters. Our political discourse has become so emotionally broken and fueled by division and anger. The role of misinformation and intentional disinformation in this downward trajectory cannot be overstated. As a candidate, I am committed to candor with care. By telling the truth while also doing so with compassion and space for disagreement, we can model a better and more productive dialogue that engages more voters and brings more diversity of opinions and ideas together in the same space to resolve our differences and create good laws that benefit society. This means listening generously and having the leadership presence to carefully but decisively manage difficult conversations in a way that is balanced and fair.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The areas of policy I am most interested in include affordability—especially housing, utilities, and healthcare costs—along with addressing climate change and ensuring New York meets and strengthens the goals of the Climate Leadership and Protection Act through sustained investment in clean energy infrastructure. I am also focused on protecting immigrant communities from federal overreach and ICE abuse, and on safeguarding reproductive freedom, including expanding and preserving access to healthcare in rural and underserved areas across the state.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Our campaign has been endorsed by the NY Working Families Party, Citizen Action of New York, Eleanor’s Legacy, Capital Women, IBEW Local 236, 1199 SEIU, and the Schenectady County Democratic Committee. We have also received the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction, the New York Health Act Champion Designation, and a rating of 100% from the Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts and Planned Parenthood of Greater NY Action Fund.