Peter Harckham


Peter "Pete" Harckham is the state senator for the 40th district of the New York State Senate. A Democrat, Harckham was first elected in 2018, defeating incumbent Terrence Murphy. The district includes parts of Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties in the Hudson Valley.
Prior to serving in the Senate, Harckham was a member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, and also served in the administration of Andrew Cuomo.

Background

Harckham grew up in the Hudson Valley, residing in Rockland County for most of his childhood. He attended Clarkstown High School North, before attending Dickinson College, where he graduated in English.
Harckham began his career in the advertising sector, working on Madison Avenue in the 1980s. Today he continues to work in media and advertising, and owns his own business based in the Hudson Valley.
Prior to elected office, Harckham served as President for a not for profit housing corporation that builds affordable housing in northern Westchester County. Prior to that, Harckham served as Vice Chair of the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, a San Francisco-based private foundation that supports the sustainable management of natural resources.
In 2007, Harckham was first elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, winning again in 2009, 2011, and 2013. He ran unsuccessfully for the New York State Assembly in a 2010 special election. He served for four terms as a county legislator, including two terms as Democratic Majority Leader.
In 2012 he was a pledged elector for president Barack Obama in the electoral college. In 2015 he left the legislature to work in the administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as assistant director of the Office of Community Renewal. In that position he helped administer grants in the lower Hudson Valley.

New York Senate

In 2018, Harckham was recruited to run against incumbent Republican state Senator Terrence Murphy, who had represented the seat since 2015. A competitive district, Murphy was nonetheless seen as very formidable, and was not seen as pundits as particularly vulnerable compared to some of the other Senate seats. However, in an overwhelmingly Democratic year, Harckham defeated Murphy, 51% to 49%.
Harckham was sworn in on January 1, 2019 by Governor Andrew Cuomo. In the Senate, he is serving as Chair of the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.