Voters across New York came out to elect new legislators in two Senate districts and nine Assembly districts on Tuesday. Turnout was low in most districts and there were few surprises, save one.
In the Assembly, Republicans picked up five seats — in Erie County, the Capital Region, the Hudson Valley and Long Island — and the Democrats picked up four seats — in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Suffolk County.
A closely watched race in the 102nd Assembly District, which was left vacant after President Trump picked Peter Lopez to head the Environmental Protection Agency’s District 2 office, is still too close to call this morning. Democrat Aidan O’Connor has come within about 300 votes of Republican Christopher Tague in the traditionally Republican District. The race has not yet been called.
Of the 80,852 active voters in that district, only 18,634 made it to the polls on Tuesday.
But the big story of the night was Democrat Shelley Mayer’s victory over Republican Julie Killian in Westchester County, which, coupled with another Democratic victory in Senate District 32 in the Bronx, gives Democrats nominal control of the state Senate.
All eyes were on Westchester this spring, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo himself endorsing Mayer, who got 17,041 votes compared to Killian’s 10,989 votes, according to unofficial numbers from the State Board of Elections.
“I’ve worked with Shelley Mayer for years. There is no one who has the experience, the qualifications, the values that Shelley Mayer represents, and we need them in Albany,” Cuomo said at Mayer’s victory party in Mamaroneck Tuesday night. “And voters said something else tonight and take notice of it – because voters said they reject the extreme conservative philosophy from Washington.”
In the other Senate race yesterday, Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda beat Patrick Delices and Pamela Stewart-Martinez by winning 88 percent of the total vote, although turnout was very low in the Bronx district, with less than 3,000 people actually voting.
In the nine Assembly races, a couple of which are still too close to call, the Board of Elections has provided these unofficial results. The Legislative Gazette will update this article as new numbers become available:
In the 5th Assembly District in Suffolk County, Republican Douglas Smith beat Democrat Deborah Slinkosky by a vote of 2,840 to 1,658. Smith also had endorsements from the Conservative, Independence and Reform parties.
In the 10th Assembly District in Suffolk County, Democrat Steve Stern beat Republican Janet Smitelli in a vote of 5,748 to 3,969. Stern was also endorsed by the Working Families, Women’s Equality, Independence and Reform parties.
In the 17th Assembly District in Nassau County, Republican John Mikulin beat Democrat Matthew Malin in a vote of 2143 to 1,215. Mikulin was also endorsed by the Conservative, Independence and reform parties.
In the 39th Assembly District in Queens, Democrat Ari Espinal ran unopposed, garnering 681 votes. Sixty people submitted wrote-in ballots for another candidate in that race.
In the 74th Assembly District in Manhattan, Democrat Harvey Epstein beat Republican Bryan Cooper in a vote of 3,830 to 202. Green Party candidate Adrienne R. Craig-Williams and Reform Party candidate Juan Pagan each garnered about 100 votes.
In the 80th Assembly District in the Bronx, Democrat Nathalia Fernandez beat Republican Gene Defrancis in a vote of 1,583 to 362. Fernandez was also endorsed by the Independence Party.
In the sprawling 102nd Assembly District, which includes parts of Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Greene Otsego, Schoharie and Ulster counties, Republican Christopher Tague is leading Democrat Aidan O’Connor Jr. by a very slim margin — 8,547 to 8,259 votes.
in the 107th Assembly District, which includes parts of Columbia, Rensselaer and Washington counties, there is another race too close to call with Republican Jacob Ashby currently leading Democrat Cynthia Doran by a vote of 7,797 to 7,517 votes, with all precincts reporting. The majority of voters in that district live in Rensselaer County, which typically swings Republican.
In the 142nd Assembly District in Erie County, Republican Erik Bohen looks to have defeated Democrat Patrick Burke in a vote of 5,831 to 5,293. Bohen was also endorsed by the Conservative and Independence parties.
