Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is projected to win New York over former Republican President Donald Trump, adding the state’s 28 electoral votes to her tally as she vies for the 270 needed to secure a victory, according to unofficial election results.
As of 11:40 p.m. Harris was winning the Empire State over Trump by 56% to 44% with 86% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press. Harris winning New York was an expected outcome in a state where registered Democrats far outnumber their Republican counterparts. However, there are still many states to go, including several of the battleground states that will likely decide the race before the Associated Press and other outlets call a winner.
Harris’ win in New York comes after Trump held three high-profile campaign events over the past few months in the state he used to call home. During the three events — held in the Bronx, the Nassau Coliseum and Madison Square Garden — Trump insisted he had a chance of winning New York, even though the state has not gone for a Republican presidential candidate in 40 years.
Gillibrand wins big
Further down the New York ballot, US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand looks to have easily turned back a challenge from Republican opponent Mike Sapraicone — a retired NYPD detective and private security business owner. At 11:45 p.m., Gillibrand had 56% of the vote to Sapricone’s 39%, with 86% of precincts reporting.
Gillibrand, a 15-year incumbent of Washington’s upper chamber, will enter her fourth term as New York’s junior senator. During her Election Night party at the Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, Gillibrand, joined by Gov. Kathy Hochul, took the stage to declare victory.
“Tonight’s results are absolutely clear that New Yorkers believe in leadership that puts people over politics and finding those common sense solutions to the real problems that people are facing all across the state,” said Gillibrand. “I will always reach across the aisle to find that common ground for the common good and to always work to unite rather than divide our state or our country.”
Hochul said the early wins for Harris in New York and Gillibrand showed that “tonight the women have won.”
“They just announced Kamala Harris carried New York State and we’re sending Kirsten Gillibrand back as our senator,” said Governor Hochul. “[Gillibrand] has been an extraordinary leader and I’m so proud that New Yorkers saw that in this election and we turned to her office with overwhelming numbers, but that’s not all she did.”
Meanwhile, Sapraicone conceded the race in a Tuesday night statement where he said that while he was “dissappointed,” he acknowledged that winning a US Senate seat in deep blue New York would be a “tough battle.“
“I am most grateful for each and every person who supported me and made my campaign so successful,” he said. “We share a vision for America — not about right and left, but about right and wrong. We know that every person deserves public safety, secure borders, an affordable quality of life, and a government that has a plan to put them first. As we move forward through uncertain times, one thing is for sure: My fight for what is right will go on.”
Gillibrand’s victory is hardly a surprise, as she held a double-digit lead over Sapraicone in recent polls. She is a veteran politician with deep ties to the state’s political establishment. Sapraicone, on the other hand, is a political newcomer with little experience, yet he believed he had a path to victory.
During her time in the Senate, Gillibrand has worked on issues like combating sexual assault in the military and stemming interstate gun trafficking. As a former NYPD detective, Sapraicone focused his campaign on crime and public safety issues.
“We are just getting started, there are challenges to face and the road ahead of us is long, but with great challenges come great opportunities. I know from the lived experience that sometimes you can’t get it all done at once. You’ve got to make meaningful small steps in the right direction and over years, you will make a difference and you will help those who are trying to help,” said Gillibrand.
House races
During her speech, Gillibrand projected optimism about flipping blue several House crucial House seats outside of the city — both upstate and on Long Island. Five seats that are in play could decide whether Democrats retake the House majority and get to anoint Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the chamber’s next speaker.
“We are going to have a majority in the US Congress and we are going to elect our next speaker as Hakeem Jeffries,” Gillibrand said. “We are going to see victories up and down the Hudson Valley, all across Long Island, in the Hudson Valley, in Syracuse, we are going to flip the House of representatives right here in New York state.”
Democrats were projected to win two of those seats late Tuesday night. Democratic US Rep. Pat Ryan successfully staved off a challenge from retired NYPD captain Alison Esposito in New York’s 18th Congressional District; while Democratic state Sen. John Mannion flipped New York’s 22 Congressional District, unseating incumbent Republican Brandon Williams.
But while many of the races outside of the five boroughs were highly competitive, those within the city held few surprises.
Although US Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Queens/Nassau County) was projected to officially won a full term on Tuesday night, he has had a firm hold over his seat since he won it back from Republicans in a February special election — following his predecessor George Santos getting expelled from Congress. He was poised to defeat his Republican challenger Mike LiPetri, an attorney and a former Assembly member; Suozzi had a roughly 11,000-vote lead with 71% of the precincts reporting around 11:40 p.m.
Suozzi represents a district that includes northeastern Queens and much of Nassau County.
Similarly, George Latimer, the Westchester County executive, is on track to winning a Congressional seat seat on Tuesday night after clearing his greatest hurdle, incumbent US Rep. Jamaal Bowman, in the June Democratic primary. Latimer was leading Republican opponent Miriam Flisser with a handful of precincts reporting.
The district covers most of Westchester County and a sliver of the Bronx.
