Manhattan’s Blue Tsunami

Early in the morning on Election Day, Governor Kathy Hochul addressed what was shaping up to be a competitive race between herself and Lee Zeldin, a Republican. She was steadfast in defending her edge, even as headlines spelled hope for her opponent. “Can’t say I’ve seen the cover of the Post in quite a while,” Hochul said outside an Upper East Side diner on the corner of East 86th Street and Second Avenue.

By the end of the night, she declared victory, alongside Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, Democratic U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and Democratic Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Hochul first took office in August of last year after former Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned amid sexual harrassment allegations; she walked away from this year’s midterm election with just over 52% of the vote, according to preliminary state results, making her the first woman elected to the position.

“The glass ceiling, like the one that’s above us here today, has finally been shattered in the state of New York,” she said in a victory speech at her election night venue downtown. In Manhattan, she won support from nearly 70% of voters.

On Tuesday, November 8, Manhattan was “headed to one of the best midterm turnout totals here in recent history,” Borough President Mark Levine announced. A few hours out from the close of polls, more than 358,000 people had checked in to cast their ballots, including during early voting, the city Board of Elections reported.

Local competitions for Congress, NYS Assembly and Senate finished decisively in blue territory.

Congressional Races: Nothing To Sweat

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who hit the campaign trail with Hochul early in the morning on Tuesday, said he felt concerned about maintaining his position as chair of the House Judiciary Committee, if other Democratic congressional campaigns didn’t succeed. But in regard to his own race in New York’s 12th Congressional District, he was at ease. “I have a solidly Democratic district,” he told Our Town. “I worry about primaries, not general elections.”

Over the summer, he fought off longtime fellow incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney, when the two were forced onto the same turf after redistricting shook up Manhattan. He won effortlessly again on Tuesday night, raking in over 81% of the vote against Republican Michael Zumbluskas, preliminary results showed.

Further north, in NY-13, incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat won reelection in a race without any challengers.

Seeing Blue For NYS Assembly

In NYS Assembly districts spanning Midtown and Manhattan’s East Side, two new Democratic candidates scored clear wins.

In District 73, spanning from Murray Hill to Carnegie Hill, BOE results showed engineer Alex Bores won over 73% of the vote against David Casavis, a Republican. On Election Day, Bores told Our Town he was experiencing “great reception out on the street” from voters who he said were aligned with his “common-sense solutions to improve quality of life” in the city.

Democratic candidate Tony Simone won even more handily against Republican candidate Joseph Maffia, with over 82% of the vote in District 75, which covers Chelsea, Midtown and Columbus Circle on the Upper West Side. Simone cast his ballot at The Shed in Hudson Yards on Tuesday afternoon. “Just like every other election day, I always wake up like a little kid, all excited,” he said.

At Chelsea polling places, multiple voters told Our Town they selected exclusively Democratic candidates to back in the midterm election, even if they hadn’t followed local races closely. Issues including women’s rights were high-priority. “I’d like to do anything I can to make sure that this isn’t, as a woman, my last chance to vote,” said Carol, a New Yorker who cast her ballot at the Fashion Institute of Technology, on West 28th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

On the Upper West Side, incumbent Democratic Assembly Members Linda Rosenthal and Daniel O’Donnell kept hold of their seats in District 67 and District 69; Democratic Assembly Members Rebecca Seawright and Edward Gibbs will continue to represent District 76 and District 68, on the Upper East Side.

In NYS Senate, Hefty Margins For Democrats

In the newly-drawn NYS Senate District 47, accounting for most of Manhattan’s West Side from West 103rd Street to the West Village, incumbent Democratic State Senator Brad Hoylman trounced “Medical Freedom” candidate Robert Bobrick and “Parent Party” candidate Maria Danzilo, winning over 92% of the vote, election night data showed.

“Democracy defeated fear today in New York,” he tweeted after midnight. Danzilo conceded the race and thanked her campaign team on Twitter earlier that evening, writing the next day that her “chances of winning were about as good as winning that billion dollar lottery.”

Incumbent State Senators Liz Krueger and Brian Kavanagh, both Democrats, each also maintained hold of their seats — with hefty margins.