Most state Assembly incumbents from NYC poised to keep seats after Tuesday primaries

Initial results of several hotly-contested state Assembly primaries offered a view Tuesday night into which way the political winds are blowing for New York City Democrats — with most incumbents holding onto their seats and maintaining the status quo.

In the race to retain control of the 56th Assembly District in Brooklyn, incumbent Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman, a party machine-backed moderate, appeared poised to defeat her more left-leaning challenger Eon Huntley, a progressive supported by the Democratic Socialists of America.

To the west of that Bedford-Stuyvesant battleground, another incumbent — progressive Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher — breezed to victory against Anathea Simpkins, who positioned herself as a moderate alternative for Greenpoint voters.

In the Bronx, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, a longtime incumbent and centrist, held on for another term in his race against challenger Jonathan Soto, an ex-staffer to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who’s been endorsed by her as well as by the DSA.

Tuesday night’s results from the state Board of Elections aren’t final, but with most ballot scanners reported, they were the best approximation of winners and losers as of the end of the night.

What the tallies show, at least for now, is that Democratic voters in the city mostly decided to stick with who they know as they prepare to cast their ballots in the November general election between President Biden and former President Donald Trump, who is now a convicted felon. The results Tuesday — as well as the upcoming general election — will also offer a window into where voters’ heads are at as the city moves toward to the next mayoral election and City Council races in 2025.

In the Zinerman and Benedetto races, two moderate Democratic incumbents fought to hold onto their seats as the city’s progressive political class attempted to carve out a bigger foothold.

This year’s push from the left came after a string of victories in recent memory — with the ascension of progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez foremost among them — and the rise of centrist Mayor Adams squarely falling into the loss column from their perspective.

Ultimately, Zinerman and Benedetto appeared to hold on. As of late Tuesday night, Zinerman had won 52.6% of the vote compared to Huntley’s 47%, and Benedetto breezed to 62% in his column compared 37.6% for Soto.

Gallagher, a progressive, also won by a wide margin, taking in 75% of the vote compared to Simpkins’ 20.7%.

Not all of the Assembly races this year were marked by such clear progressive-moderate battle lines.

That political dynamic — and incumbency — clearly seemed to be at play for voters in some races. In others, the candidates’ character proved to be a more central issue.

Two races where that was clearly a consideration played out in Queens.

In one, Hiram Monserrate, an ex-state senator who spent nearly two years in prison after being convicted of fraud and domestic abuse charges, faced off against Larinda Hooks, a Queens district leader, for control of the 35th Assembly District covering East Elmhurst, Corona and LeFrak City.

In a good sign for powerbroker Rep. Gregory Meeks, who endorsed Hooks, she was leading in the vote count as of late Tuesday night, with 59% of the vote to Monserrate’s 40%.

In another tough Queens race, incumbent Assemblyman Juan Ardila faced off against two challengers: Johanna Carmona, a former sex crimes prosecutor, and Claire Valdez, a DSA-endorsed union organizer.

In 2023, Ardila was accused of attempting to sexually take advantage of two woman. Immediately after those accusations became public, he apologized, but the pol later denied the accusations. Ever since then, key political allies have fled, putting a big target on Ardila’s back.

On Tuesday night, the backlash proved too much, making Ardila the only Assembly incumbent loser Tuesday. According to the most up-to-date results, he won just shy of 9% of the vote compared to 58% for Valdez and 32% for Carmona.

In upper Manhattan, two more Assembly races formed along distinctly different contours, which highlighted the ongoing power struggle between the once-mighty Harlem political machine and the ascendent forces of Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who’s based primarily in Washington Heights and Inwood.

In East Harlem, Assemblyman Eddie Gibbs squared off against Xavier Santiago, a community board chairman.

Gibbs, the first ex-con elected to the legislature, has enjoyed the backing of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Bronx Democratic Party boss Jamaal Bailey, while Santiago got Espaillat’s nod.

In a blow to Espaillat, Gibbs led in the most recent results with 42% compared to the 33% garnered by Santiago.

To the west, in the 70th Assembly District, several contenders vied for the seat being vacated by Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, a veteran lawmaker who replaced Wright in that post.

Most notable among them was Jordan Wright, Keith Wright’s son and chief of staff to Councilman Yusef Salaam. Dickens, who raised hackles when she said Espaillat’s seat should go back to a Black leader, backed Wright in the race.

Facing off against him Tuesday were Maria Ordonez, a Democratic state committee member, Shana Harmongoff, a lawyer who worked for former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, and Craig Schley, a law clerk.

Despite the thick field and the Dickens controversy, Wright appeared to strike a blow for his pops Tuesday night. With 91% of ballot scanners reported, he won 3,768 votes, compared to 2,327 for Ordonez, 1,325 for Harmongoff and 395 for Schley.