Democratic state Senate hopeful Andrew Gounardes defeated longtime GOP state Sen. Marty Golden in a shocking upset on Tuesday, kicking the eight-term incumbent out of his seat by a more than 1,100-vote margin, turning a swath of Southern Brooklyn blue for the first time in decades, and giving the Dems control of Albany’s upper house. A blue-party candidate will also now represent a swath of Southern Brooklyn in Congress after a majority of voters on Tuesday elected Max Rose to take the seat of Rep. Dan Donovan, knocking the city’s lone House Republican out of office. And former Fort Greene Councilwoman Letitia “Tish” James is headed to Albany as New York State’s first black attorney general after cruising to victory in a four-person race. Read on for our full recap of Tuesday’s general election:
Democratic newcomer Andrew Gounardes will go on to govern over Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend, and parts of Sheepshead Bay, Borough Park, and Midwood, edging out the 16-year pol by winning 29,505 to Golden’s 28,919. The victory is a one-eighty for Gounardes, who lost his last race against Golden by more than 10,000 votes in 2012.
Democratic challenger Max Rose — a U.S. Army veteran and former health-care executive — deposed New York City’s only Republican Congressman, incumbent Dan Donovan, winning some 53 percent of votes in a staggering upset that led Donovan to concede about an hour after polls closed. Rose will go on to represent the mostly suburban 11th Congressional district, which covers Bay Ridge, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Sheepshead Bay, and all of Staten Island.
Democrat Mathylde Frontus bested Republican challenger Steven Saperstein in the contest to fill the Assembly seat left vacant by disgraced former Assemblywoman Pamela Harris, winning 54 percent of the vote. Frontus, a native Coney Islander who narrowly won the Democratic primary by just 51 votes, will now head to Albany to represent the 46th Assembly district, which covers Coney Island and parts of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, and Gravesend.
Political newcomer Zellnor Myrie annihilated state Sen. Jesse Hamilton, taking nearly 90 percent of the vote to secure control of the state’s 20th Senate District, which includes Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brownsville, and Sunset Park. Myrie’s defeat of Hamilton, who formerly caucused with Senate Republicans as a member of the Independent Democratic Conference, followed his Democratic primary victory over the sitting pol, who made a Hail Mary run to hold onto his seat by keeping his name on the Women’s Equality and Independence parties’ lines.
Incumbent Democrat Brian Kavanagh sailed to victory in his first real election, keeping the state Senate seat he won in a special election last September and winning a second term representing parts of Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Dumbo, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens. Kavanagh, who previously served as an Assemblyman, faced a challenges from Conservative Stuart Avrick and Republican Anthony Arias, but raked in some 67,500 votes to Arias’s 9,000 and Avrick’s 690 by the time more than 90 percent of ballots were counted.
Statewide
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand won a second term to represent the Empire State in Washington, D.C. in a landslide race, securing more than 2-million votes to challenger Chele Chiavacci Farley’s more than 750,000, with just over half of precincts reporting.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo will go on to serve a third term as the state’s top pol — following in the footsteps of his father, Mario — after making quick work of Republican challenger Marc Molinaro, and Green Party nominee Howie Hawkins by winning more than 60 percent of the vote. And in re-electing Cuomo, voters also elected his second-in-command, incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul, who ran on a ticket with the governor.
Brooklynite Tish James claimed victory Tuesday night, becoming New York State’s attorney general after years in office as the city’s Public Advocate and a former Fort Greene Councilwoman. James, who won the Democratic primary in September, will replace Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood, who took office when former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned in disgrace earlier this year amid accusations of physical and sexual abuse. The longtime city pol — who will be the state’s first black top prosecutor, and the first black woman to hold statewide office in New York — trounced her three competitors, winning nearly 60 percent of the vote.
House
Incumbent Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez will return to the House for a fourteenth term to represent New York’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Bushwick, Greenpoint, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, East New York, Brooklyn Heights, Sunset Park, and Williamsburg, after winning more than 93 percent of the vote.
Democratic incumbent Rep. Hakeem Jeffries sailed to victory Tuesday night, raking in more than 93 percent and winning a third term as the representative from New York’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Fort Greene, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Canarsie, East New York, Marine Park, and Coney Island.
Democratic incumbent Rep. Jerrold Nadler scored just under 80 percent of the vote, more than enough to win a fourth term representing New York’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Red Hook, Sunset Park,and Flatbush, winning with just under 80 percent of the vote.
Democratic incumbent Rep. Yvette Clarke shrugged off challenges from Republican and Reform Party candidates, winning a fourth term representing New York’s 9th Congressional District, which includes Crown Heights, Flatlands, and Sheepshead Bay, by securing nearly 80 percent of the vote.
Incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney will return to the House for her 14th term as a Democrat representing New York’s 12th Congressional District, which includes Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and parts of Manhattan and Queens, after sailing to victory with more than 86 percent of the vote.
State Senate
Incumbent Democratic state Sen. Simcha Felder, who also appeared on the Republican and Conservative parties’ lines, easily bested his Reform Party challenger, winning 87 percent of the vote.
He will return to Albany for another two-year term to represent the 17th District, which includes Borough Park, Midwood, and Flatbush.
Democratic Socialist Julia Salazar will serve her first term as a Democrat representing New York State’s 18th Senate District, which includes Bushwick, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bedford-Stuyvesant, East New York, and Brownsville, after facing no challengers in Tuesday’s general election following her surprise primary defeat of 15-year incumbent Martin Malave Dilan.
Democratic incumbent state Sen. Roxanne Persaud sailed to victory with 88 percent of the vote over her Republican challenger, winning a third term representing the 19th District, which includes Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown, Ocean Hill, and Starrett City.
Incumbent Democrat state Sen. Kevin Parker won an easy victory over his Conservative Party challenger for control of the 21st District, which includes East Flatbush, Flatlands, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope, winning more than 90 percent of the vote.
Incumbent state Sen. Diane Savino, a Democrat who caucused with Republicans as a member of the controversial and now-defunct Independent Democratic Conference, retained her seat winning 70 percent of the vote against her GOP challenger. She will go on to serve an eighth term representing the 23rd District, which includes Bensonhurst, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Dyker Heights, Gravesend, and Sunset Park.
Incumbent Democratic state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery will return to Albany for a fourth term representing New York’s 25th Senate District, which includes Bedford-Stuyvesant, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Boerum Hill, Downtown, and Red Hook, after running unopposed.
Assembly
Incumbent Democratic Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein will return to Albany for a twentieth term after an uncontested race for her seat representing New York’s 41st Assembly District, which includes Flatlands, East Midwood, Madison, and Sheepshead Bay, after running unopposed.
Freshman Assemblyman Robert Carroll successfully defended his seat against Republican Yevgeny Goldberg in the race to represent the 44th District, which includes Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington, winning with more than 80 percent of the vote.
Incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, who ran unopposed, will return to Albany for a tenth term representing New York’s 45th Assembly District, which includes Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach, Homecrest, Gravesend, and Midwood.
Incumbent Assemblyman Peter Abbate easily beat Conservative Party challenger Rosemary Mangino in the race to represent the 49th District, which includes parts of Sunset Park, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst. The longtime Democratic pol, who will go on to serve a seventeenth term, secured more than 10,200 votes to Mangino’s more than 1,800 after nearly all ballots were counted, beating her for the second time after she unsuccessfully ran against him in 2016.
Incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, who ran unopposed, will return to Albany for an eighteenth term representing New York’s 50th Assembly District, which includes Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Fort Greene.
Incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Felix Ortiz will return to Albany for a twelfth term representing New York’s 51st Assembly District, which includes Red Hook, Greenwood Heights, and Sunset Park, after running unopposed.
Incumbent Democratic Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon cruised to a third term representing the 52nd District, which includes Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Downtown Gowanus, Park Slope, and Dumbo, after taking home 95 percent of the vote.
Incumbent Democratic Assemblywoman Maritza Davila, who ran unopposed, will return to Albany for a third term representing New York’s 53rd Assembly District, which includes Williamsburg and Bushwick.
Democratic incumbent Assemblyman Erik Martin Dilan won a third term in his seat representing the state’s 54th District, which includes Bushwick, Cypress Hills, East New York, Ocean Hill, and Brownsville, after nabbing 95 percent of the vote.
Incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Walter Mosley, who ran largely unopposed in the general election, will return to Albany for a fourth term representing New York’s 57th Assembly District, which includes Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, and Crown Heights.
Freshman Assemblywoman Jaime Williams annihilated her Republican challenger and will return for a second term to represent the 59th District, which includes Canarsie, Georgetown, Mill Basin, Marine Park, Bergen Beach, and Gerritsen Beach, after winning 80 percent of the vote.
