ALBANY, New York — Incumbent New York state legislators had one of their smoothest primary nights on record, with members from the center, far left and far right handily topping their challengers.
Democratic Assemblymember Juan Ardila was the only incumbent in the 213-member Legislature who lost. And he was hardly a typical incumbent — he lost nearly all support after allegations surfaced last year that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior.
Ardila received 10 percent of the vote in a three-way race in his Queens district. He’ll be replaced by Claire Valdez, who received 58 percent with the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America.
But everywhere else in New York, incumbents avoided any speed bumps on a night that featured mostly Democratic contests. It’s the second election cycle in a row in which the status quo has held on primary night, following a tumultuous 2018 in which 10 incumbents lost and a June 2020 vote featuring six defeats.
The results might be seen as a rare stamp of approval for Albany. The state’s two highest-profile Democratic congressional primaries were won by state Sen. John Mannion and former state Sen. (and current Westchester County Executive) George Latimer, while the district attorney who has been one of the state Legislature’s loudest Democratic critics in recent years was defeated after two decades in office.
Democratic Assemblymembers Stefani Zinerman in Brooklyn, Michael Benedetto in the Bronx and Didi Barrett in Columbia County each managed to beat back high-profile challenges from the left.
Progressive Assemblymembers Emily Gallagher in Brooklyn, Ron Kim in Queens, and Sarahana Shrestha in Ulster County — all Democrats — each beat back opponents running from the center.
The DSA-backed state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, the only member of the Senate who had a serious primary challenge, walloped challenger Gus Lambropoulos with 84 percent of the vote in a Democratic primary in a district centered in Long Island City.
In Westchester, Democratic Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky beat back a comeback attempt from Tom Abinanti two years after she ousted Abinanti on primary night. And in Rochester, Democratic Assemblymember Demond Meeks easily held on in a race that was a microcosm of a local power struggle.
Assemblymember David DiPietro will likely top 80 percent of the vote in Western New York. DiPietro, the only incumbent Republican with a primary challenge, was boosted by a Donald Trump endorsement last week.
A handful of safe Democratic open seats in the Assembly went mostly as expected. Larinda Hooks defeated disgraced former Sen. Hiram Monserrate with 57 percent of the vote in Queens.
Micah Lasher, a former staffer to officials such as Gov. Kathy Hochul and ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, cruised with 53 percent of the vote in a five-way primary on the Upper West Side.
Jordan Wright won in Harlem with 47 percent in a four-way race. The son of Manhattan Democratic Chair Keith Wright, he enjoyed the support of most top party leaders.
Albany Common Council Member Gabriella Romero won an open race with 29 percent of the vote. She had the backing of the Working Families Party in a six-candidate field.
Albany County also featured the most seismic result of the night outside of Westchester’s congressional contest. District Attorney David Soares, a Democrat who has been in office for two decades, appears to have been defeated by challenger Lee Kindlon following a tumultuous election cycle in which Soares came under heat for awarding himself a $24,000 bonus.
Soares, one of the loudest Democratic critics against the 2019 changes to bail laws, did not seem likely to concede the race on primary night.
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