Mayor DeBlasio will retain his seat for another four years after cruising to victory in Tuesday’s general election, along with Public Advocate Tish James, Borough President Adams, District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Comptroller Scott Stringer, and all of the incumbent Democratic councilmembers in deep-blue Kings County. But voters shook up the local legislative landscape by choosing new electeds to fill open Council positions in Bay Ridge and Midwood, vacancies that drew hopefuls who competed in hotly contested races with attacks lobbed from either side. New Yorkers also voted overwhelmingly against holding a constitutional convention, a contentious statewide ballot referendum that would have sent delegates to Albany with the power to revise the state’s constitution. Read on for our full recap of the general election results.
35th Council District
Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo — who is still on maternity leave following the August birth of her son — retained her seat, staving off challenges from the Green Party and Democratic Socialists of America-backed Jabari Brisport and Republican candidate Christine Parker after winning a tough primary contest against second-time challenger Ede Fox in September.
40th Council District
Councilman Mathieu Eugene cruised to victory over Reform Party challenger Brian Cunningham, even after some of the competitor’s volunteers and campaign workers accused the incumbent of illegally electioneering at several polling sites on election day. Eugene, who won a special election for his seat in 2007, narrowly beat three Democratic challengers in the September primary, including Cunningham, whose general-election loss was his second failed attempt at ousting the sitting pol.
43rd Council District
Voters elected Democrat and Bay Ridge native Justin Brannan, a former staffer for outgoing Councilman Vincent Gentile, as the neighborhood’s next representative. Brannan narrowly fended off Republican John Quaglione — and trounced Reform Party candidate Bob Capano — after an intense race in a district that’s known to be one of the most conservative in deep-blue Brooklyn.
44th Council District
Kalman Yeger will succeed Councilman David Greenfield after winning one of the year’s dirtiest Council races, which continued up until the day voters’ cast their ballots. Yeger — who Greenfield handpicked as his successor and was backed by the borough’s establishment — faced what many thought would be an uphill battle against Yoni Hikind, the son of Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D–Midwood) who ran on the independent “Our Neighborhood” party line.
48th Council District
Freshman Democratic Councilman Chaim Deutsch will serve another four years after fending off Republican Steve Saperstein, who posed a serious — but unsuccessful — challenge to the incumbent in another right-leaning district, where the majority of voters cast ballots for Donald Trump last year.
Elsewhere in Brooklyn, incumbent legislators Stephen Levin (D–Brooklyn Heights), Carlos Menchaca (D–Red Hook), Rafael Espinal (D–Bushwick), Inez Barron (D–East Flatbush), Jumaane Williams (D–Midwood), Alan Maisel (D–Marine Park), and Mark Treyger (D–Coney Island) all cruised to victory over their challengers on Tuesday night, retaining their Council seats for four more years.
And Councilmen Antonio Reynoso (D–Williamsburg), Brad Lander (D–Park Slope), and Robert Cornegy (D–Bedford-Stuyvesant) all ran unopposed and will also retain their positions.
