Tuesday night’s sleepy primaries were mostly good news for incumbents in New York City. The low-turnout affairs broke for district attorneys Melinda Katz in Queens and Darcel Clark in the Bronx, who both declared victory as unofficial election night results trickled in. And several City Council members who were facing well-publicized challenges — including Manhattan Council Member Chris Marte, who was targeted over his membership in the body’s Progressive Caucus, and Bronx member Marjorie Velázquez, who took heat over a rezoning in her district — all had sizeable leads and tallies topping 50 percent, with nearly all of the vote counted. Granted, each district had varying numbers of mail-in ballots outstanding. But writ-large, the results boded well for sitting members. There were, of course, a few exceptions. Brooklyn Council Member Charles Barron was around seven points behind challenger Chris Banks, who received backing from labor groups and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in the effort to topple the dynastic legislator. Banks had just over 50 percent of the vote as of Tuesday night. Should that share hold, it would be enough to avoid a ranked-choice vote count, which the city’s Board of Elections is expected to begin next week. The most closely watched contest of the night was a seat in Harlem, where the incumbent dropped out of the race (though she still appeared on the ballot). There, Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated members of the Central Park Five, declared victory over two sitting lawmakers: State Assembly members Inez Dickens and Al Taylor. “I think we need some new, young blood in the community with a new outlook on things,” Venus Brown, a 59-year-old voter, told POLITICO after pulling the lever Tuesday. The race was a black eye for Mayor Eric Adams, who endorsed Dickens. So did U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who has been amassing political power in northern Manhattan and the Bronx. Should Salaam go on to win the official count, his victory would boost the fortunes of Manhattan Democratic Party Leader Keith Wright. In Brooklyn, Susan Zhuang, former chief of staff to Assembly Member William Coltin, was poised to snag the Democratic nomination for a newly created majority Asian seat. Zhuang will face off with the winner of a close Republican primary in what is expected to be several competitive general elections in November. In nearby Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Democrat-turned-Republican Ari Kagan snagged the GOP nomination, pitting him against Democrat Justin Brannan in the fall. But primary night wasn’t all New York City. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano cruised in a Democratic primary against two opponents as he eyes a record fourth term this November. In Poughkeepsie, Councilwoman Yvonne Flowers beat current Mayor Marc Nelson and Wesley Lee in a Democratic primary for the city’s top seat. And in Buffalo, Zeneta Everhart, who is the mother of a mass shooting survivor at a local supermarket, defeated former socialist mayoral candidate India Walton in a city council race. IT’S WEDNESDAY. WHERE’S KATHY? Delivering remarks at a funeral for former Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch. WHERE’S ERIC? Making a sanitation-related announcement, delivering remarks at a city government hiring event, and hosting a reception for high school recipients of the “Mayor Eric Adams Award of Honor.” QUOTE OF THE DAY: "This campaign has been about those who have been counted out, those who have been forgotten." — Yusef Salaam in his victory speech for the Harlem Council seat.
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