State Sen. Shelley Mayer is taking on a powerful new role in New York politics. The Westchester lawmaker was appointed to lead the Senate's Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, or DSCC, putting her in charge of the party's effort to defend its majority and flip more seats across New York state. She joined News 12's senior reporter Tara Rosenblum for her first interview since the appointment. The appointment was made by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a fellow Yonkers Democrat, and puts Sen. Mayer in charge of the political arm of the Senate Democratic Conference at a pivotal moment. The Democrats currently hold 41 of the state Senate's 63 seats - just one seat shy of a supermajority. Sen. Mayer said her new role includes recruiting candidates, defending incumbents and raising money. "So this is expanding our majority, electing more Democrats," she says. The four-term Democrat says the party will target competitive races on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley and in parts of upstate New York, where the Democrats believe they can pick up GOP-held seats. Sen. Mayer says their message to voters will focus on the cost of living. "Things cost too much, whether it's the cost of food, whether it's the cost of housing...the impact of the federal cuts in Medicaid and in food assistance...we have to take these things on," she says. Republicans say they see a very different political landscape.

They argue that voters are growing increasingly concerned about the direction of the state under Democratic control.

"So this is a very scary time here in New York state. And what I'm hearing from my constituents and from people across New York state is the rise of socialism, and the radical left is their No. 1 concern," says state Sen. George Borrello. Sen. Mayer takes over the position from Queens state Sen. Mike Gianaris, who is leaving the Senate later this week.