In his native Hudson Valley, longtime State Senator Bill Larkin announced he won't be returning to Albany in 2019.

The former WWII Veteran now becomes the fifth Senate Republican in the last week to pass on a re-election bid. He choked back tears twice as he thanked his family, staff, and supporters.

Larkin joins Kathy Marchione, John DeFrancisco, John Bonacic, and Tom Croci as Republican members exiting the Capitol. His district includes parts of Orange, Rockland and Ulster Counties and could potentially be a pickup for Democrats, who hold a numeric advantage in the chamber but still reside in the minority due to Simcha Felder's (D-Brooklyn) decision to conference with the GOP.

This week on the program we'll wrap up the week's news and Ken Lovett of the Daily News and Dan Levy from WNYT join us for analysis. We hope to see you on your local PBS station.