Forty New York City elected officials and candidates were unopposed on Election Day — meaning that as long as they bothered to vote for themselves, they won a term in office next year.
A review of the New York City Board of Elections’ list of candidates found that one House candidate, 14 state Senate hopefuls and 25 Assembly competitors did not have a challenger on Election Day, and as long as they voted for themselves, were assured victory Tuesday.
All but two of the combined 40 unopposed Election Day candidates are incumbents. Just three of the 40 unopposed candidates are Republicans; the rest are Democrats — which isn’t very surprising in a city where Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans.
Here’s a rundown of the “winners” who are assured of taking office on Capitol Hill and in Albany on behalf of New Yorkers next year:
House
• 13th District (Manhattan/Bronx) — Congress Member Adriano Espillat will win another term in office after successfully defeated two challengers in the August primary. He was the only member of the New York City Congressional delegation to not have a general election opponent.
State Senate
• 10th District (Queens) — State Senator James Sanders gained another term in the legislature’s upper house after not having opponents in the August primary and November election.
• 12th District (Queens/Brooklyn) — State Senator Michael Gianaris had no primary opponent in August, and no general election opponent, either.
• 13th District (Queens) — State Senator Jessica Ramos secured a new term in office unopposed in November after being unchallenged in the June primary.
• 14th District (Queens) — State Senator Leroy Comrie had a stress-free election cycle, as he endured the June primary and the November general election without opponents in either contest.
• 18th District (Brooklyn/Queens) — State Senator Julia Salazar procured another term in office unopposed in November after being unchallenged in the August primary.
• 19th District (Brooklyn/Queens) — State Senator Roxanne Persaud also had an easy path to re-election this year, as she was unopposed in both the August primary and the November general election.
• 20th District (Brooklyn) — State Senator Zellnor Myrie won another term in office unopposed after enduring the August primary without a challenger.
• 24th District (Staten Island) — State Senator Andrew Lanza was one of only three New York City Republican incumbents to secure another term in office unopposed in both the June primary and the November general election.
• 25th District (Brooklyn) — State Senator Jabari Brisport secured another term without opposition on Election Day; he had turned back a primary challenger back in August.
• 29th District (Manhattan/Bronx) — State Senator Jose Serrano wasn’t opposed in the August primary, and was re-elected without an opponent Tuesday.
• 30th District (Harlem) — State Senator Cordell Cleare defeated two challengers in August, but had no takers for the November general election.
• 33rd District (Bronx) — State Senator Gustavo Rivera won another term unopposed after fending off an August primary challenge.
• 36th District (Bronx) — State Senator Jamaal Bailey lacked a primary challenger in August, and was re-elected unopposed on Election Day.
• 59th District (Manhattan/Queens/Bronx) — Kristen Gonzalez bested four others for the new triborough state Senate seat including parts of Manhattan’s East Side, western Queens and the northern tip of Brooklyn. The Democratic socialist will be sworn into her first term in office this January.
Assembly
• 24th District (Queens) — Assembly Member David Weprin had beat out three opponents in the June primary, but got to relax on Election Day without a general election challenger.
• 29th District (Queens) — Assembly Member Alicia Hyndman bested a challenger in the June primary, and was re-elected unopposed on Election Day.
• 31st District (Queens) — Assembly Member Khaleel Anderson had no primary opponent in June, and no general election opponent, either.
• 33rd District (Queens) — Assembly Member Clyde Vanel easily defeated a challenger in the June primary, and was re-elected without a general election opponent.
• 34th District (Queens) — Assembly Member Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas will gain a second term in office unopposed after being unchallenged in the June primary.
• 35th District (Queens) — Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry defeated a single challenger in the June primary, and had no opponent in the general election.
• 36th District (Queens) — Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani secured another term in office unopposed in both June and November.
• 37th District (Queens) — Juan Ardila defeated four challengers for the seat long-held by the outgoing Cathy Nolan. He’ll be sworn in as her successor in January.
• 38th District (Queens) — Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar will gain a second term in office unopposed after being unchallenged in the June primary.
• 39th District (Queens) — Assembly Member Catalina Cruz had no primary opponent in June, and no general election opponent, either.
• 42nd District (Brooklyn) — Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte won re-election Tuesday without opposition in the general election; she also had no primary opponent in June.
• 43rd District (Brooklyn) — Assembly Member Brian Cunningham, who won his seat in a March special election, will gain a full term in office unopposed on Election Day.
• 50th District (Brooklyn) — Assembly Member Emily Gallagher was unopposed in November after winning a primary for her seat back in June.
• 53rd District (Brooklyn) — Assembly Member Maritza Davila had no primary opponent in June, and will be re-elected without opposition on Election Day.
• 56th District (Brooklyn) — Assembly Member Stefani Zinerman experienced no drama this election cycle, as she faced no opposition in the June primary and November general election.
• 57th District (Brooklyn) — Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest had no Election Day opponent after winning the June primary.
• 59th District (Brooklyn) — Assembly Member Jaime Williams secured a new term in office unopposed in November after being unchallenged in the June primary.
• 61st District (Brooklyn/Lower Manhattan/Staten Island) — Assembly Member Charles Fall defeated a single challenger in the June primary, and had no opponent in the general election.
• 62nd District (Staten Island) — Assembly Member Michael Reilly Jr., a Republican, also retained his seat without challengers in the June primary and November election.
• 64th District (Brooklyn/Staten Island) — Assembly Member Michael Tannousis was the third and final NYC Republican on this list who on Election Day was re-elected unopposed to his office; Tannousis also had no challenger in the June primary.
• 66th District (Manhattan) — Assembly Member Deborah Glick fended off one challenger in the June primary, but faced no opposition on Election Day.
• 67th District (Manhattan) — Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal had a stress-free election cycle, as she endured the June primary and the November general election without opponents in either contest.
• 71st District (Manhattan) — Assembly Member Alfred E. Taylor was unopposed in November after defeating a challenger in the June primary.
• 72nd District (Manhattan) — Assembly Member Manny De Los Santos, who was elected to office in a special election earlier this year, won a full-term unopposed on Tuesday. He had turned aside two primary challengers in June.
• 76th District (Manhattan) — Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, who defeated a challenger in June, was also re-elected unopposed Tuesday.
