New York held its second of two primary elections of the 2022 cycle yesterday as a result of a lawsuit filed related to the redistricting process this year. Yesterday’s primary election was for those running for the U.S. House of Representatives and the New York State Senate. The results of the election did not contain many surprises.
On the Congressional side, there were two races that captured national attention. The first race was a primary for the 12th Congressional District, which saw two long-time incumbents facing off as the result of the redistricting map drawn by the Special Master. Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, both senior members of Congress who had served together for the past three decades, faced off in a heated race, but in the end, Representative Nadler defeated Representative Maloney by a significant margin.
The second race that captured national attention was for the 10th Congressional District, which was an entirely new district created in New York City without an incumbent. As a result, there were more than a dozen candidates running for the seat. Daniel Goldman, the heir to the Levi Strauss fortune who prosecuted President Trump’s first impeachment case, won by a slim margin. Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou was close behind in second place. This will remain an interesting race to watch because while Assemblymember Niou did not prevail in the primary race, she may have the Working Families Party line in the November General Election and may be able to secure a victory for the seat then.
The state also held a couple of special elections for open Congressional seats. For instance, there was a special election for the 19th Congressional seat, which is the seat formerly held by now Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado. Democrat Pat Ryan has declared victory, although Republican Marc Molinaro has not conceded at this point. This race was being watched closely as a potential harbinger of the races to come in November that will determine which party will have control of Congress in 2023. The 23rd Congressional District, formerly held by Representative Tom Reed, also held a special election, with Republican nominee Joe Sempolinski declaring victory.
On the New York State Senate side, there were many primary challenges as a result of the newly drawn maps. While there were no real surprises, there were three races being watched for seats that had been vacated by incumbents. For the seat currently held by Senator Diane Savino, who announced she would not run for reelection, Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, who previously worked for the Senator, won. For the seat currently held by Senator Alessandra Biaggi, who vacated her Senate seat to challenge Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, Assemblymember Nathalia Fernandez beat out two primary challengers. Finally, in a newly created Senate seat, the 59th District in Manhattan, there was a crowded field of candidates where Kristen S. Gonzalez was able to prevail.
With the primary elections behind us, all eyes turn to the general election, which will occur on Tuesday, November 8, and see elections for all four statewide offices, all 63 Senate seats, all 150 Assembly seats, all 26 U.S. House of Representative seats and the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Senator Chuck Schumer.
We will continue to provide updates on key issues as they emerge here in Albany. If you have additional questions about the election results, please reach out to a member of our Government Affairs practice group for assistance: