Republican challenger Steve Chan was poised to unseat Democratic incumbent Iwen Chu in state Senate District 17 on Tuesday night, earning more than 29,000 votes to Chu’s approximately 23,500, with 98% of votes counted.
A retired U.S. Marine and New York City Police Department Sergeant, Chan moved to Bay Ridge from Hong Kong with his family at age 11, and has lived in Bensonhurst since 1992.
After he retired from the police force, Chan became deeply involved at his childrens’ schools, per his campaign website, where he served as a PTA president, a member of the School Leadership Team, and a Title I chairperson.
Chan’s campaign website is light on policy statements, but says he remains dedicated to public service, and values “personal responsibility and community improvement,” two tenets he said are “central to the American Dream.”
Endorsed by the Brooklyn Conservative Party and Vito LaBella — the Republican who ran against Chu in 2022 and this year mounted a campaign against Democratic State Sen. Andrew Gounardes — Chan has been vocally supportive of the New York City Police Department and has joined local politicians, including Democratic Council Member Susan Zhuang, in speaking out against a proposed homeless shelter on 86th St. in Bensonhurst.
He has also used his social media platforms to speak out in support of former president Donald Trump. In July, after a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania, Chan posted on X, “The far left wants President Trump dead because he loves America, wants to protect our borders and citizens. (Thank heavens he’s ok). Now, who’s the real enemy of America?”
Celebrating his win on Tuesday night, Chan said Republicans might finally break the Democratic supermajority in the state Senate.
“Tonight we won, and it was easy and I’ll tell you why,” he said. “It was easy for our community of 350,000 to realize that we did not have someone representing as well, and tonight they spoke.”
In a statement Tuesday night, Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said Kings County “picked the best candidate.”
“We are thrilled to pick up a Republican seat in New York City and welcome the first Asian-American Republican state senator to our conference,” he said. “Tonight, Kings County overwhelmingly made their voices heard and demanded real change in their state government. I applaud Steve Chan and his campaign on his victory and look forward to working with Senator-elect Chan and the rest of our colleagues in the Republican conference to make New York safer and more affordable. Kings County picked the best candidate tonight. Our conference stands ready to continue our work, and we will not rest until it’s done.”
Fran Vella-Marrone, chair of the Kings County Conservative Party, said Chan will be “a senator for everyone.”
“Steve Chan’s win is tremendous,” she told Brooklyn Paper. “He ran a great race and he’s going to make a great senator.”
Vella-Marrone said she spent several months with Chan on the campaign trail, and that, from what she’s seen, he was given a warm welcome.
“He was well received by everyone in the district — no matter the demographic,” she said. “He is going to be a senator for everyone.”
Chu was first elected in 2022, eking out a narrow victory over Republican Vito LaBella to represent Brooklyn’s first Asian-majority state Senate district, which encompasses parts of Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Kensington and Sunset Park.
After what she called an “hard-fought” race, the history-making incumbent appeared to concede to a crowd of family, friends and supporters at Park Asia in Dyker Heights.
“The people made a decision, and of course, we tried, we fought, we hope we gained the trust,” Chu said. “I totally respect the result.”
She went on to thank her supporters for giving her the opportunity to serve her community.
“I am so proud of every one of you, because this journey — [it was] not just me fighting for this one,” Chu said. “It’s hundreds of you, thousands of you — tens of thousands of you who voted for me. I really appreciate the trust, the opportunity and, again, I can only say that this was not an easy fight.”
The race for State District 17 wasn’t the only close call in southern Brooklyn on election night. Around 11 p.m., Democrat Chris McCreight conceded the race for the 46th Assembly District to incumbent Republican Alec Brook-Krasny, who was poised to secure re-election with over 52% of the vote.
Meanwhile, the race for Assembly District 45 was too close to call Tuesday night. As of Wednesday morning, just under 300 votes separated Republican incumbent Michael Novakhov and Democratic opponent Joey Cohen-Saban, according to unofficial Board of Elections results.
Additional reporting by Meaghan McGoldrick O’Neil & Robert Pearl
