Two Queens Seats Likely to Flip From Democrat to Republican

Capitol Building in Albany, NY Photo by Rob Martinez on Unsplash

Nov. 9, 2022 By Christian Murray

Tuesday’s election contained no surprises for Democrats in western and central Queens, but Democrats in eastern Queens saw an assembly seat and a congressional seat flip to the Republicans.

There were no upsets on a statewide basis. The governorship did not change, with Democrat Kathleen Hochul generating 52 percent of the vote to Lee Zeldin’s 47 percent. Meanwhile, Attorney General Letitia James, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer cruised to victory.

In western Queens, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez easily retained her 14^th District seat, which covers the northern section of Astoria as well as parts of Corona, Jackson Heights, College Point and an eastern portion of the Bronx. She generated 70.4 percent of the vote, with her opponent Tina Forte (R) accounting for 27.5 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial results released by the New York City Board of Elections.

Meanwhile, Nydia Velázquez, trounced her Republican rival Juan Pagan to represent the 7^th Congressional District, which following this year’s redistricting covers Long Island City, Sunnyside, and other sections of western and central Queens. Velázquez brought in 80.36 percent of the vote.

Grace Meng retained her 6^th Congressional seat covering central Queens bringing in 63.19 percent of the vote, beating Thomas Zmich who generated 36.7 percent of the vote running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Gregory Meeks easily won the 5^th District seat with 75 percent of the vote. Hakeem Jeffries, who represents the eighth Congressional District, an area that encompasses large parts of Brooklyn and a section of Queens, brought in 72 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, the Republicans flipped the 3^rd Congressional seat, which covers a portion of eastern Queens and the northern section Long Island, with George Santos (R) beating Robert Zimmerman (D) by a 52.55 percent to 44.42 percent margin. The seat is currently held by Thomas Suozzi who announced that he was vacating the seat prior to his unsuccessful run in the Democratic primary for governor.

There were no surprises in Queens in terms of the state senate with few candidates facing a challenger.

Kristen Gonzalez (D) did not face an opponent in the 59^th State Senate District, which was created via redistricting this year and covers much of Astoria and Long Island City as well as parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan. She beat Elizabeth Crowley in the primary in August.

Meanwhile, State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D) was unchallenged for his 12th District seat that no longer covers Long Island City and much of Astoria that he currently represents. The seat, following redistricting, is now centered on Sunnyside and Woodside, as well as areas in central Queens.

Jessica Ramos (D), who represents the 13^th Senate District in Jackson Heights. ran unopposed. So too did James Sanders (D) of District 10 and Leroy G. Comrie Jr. (D) of District 14.

State Senators John Liu (D), Joseph Addabbo (D) and Toby Ann Stavisky (D) all faced challengers and won.

Liu, who represents the 16^th District, beat Ruben Cruz II (R) by 57.67 percent to 42.23 percent.  Addabbo, who represents the 15th, beat Danniel Maio (R) by 56.86 to 43 percent.

Meanwhile, Stavisky of the 11th Senate District beat Stefano Forte (R) by 55.96 percent to 43.98 percent.

In the Assembly, most of the races were uncontested.

Juan Ardila (D), who won the Democratic primary in June to succeed Cathy Nolan who is retiring, faced no challengers in Assembly District 37, covering parts of Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and Ridgewood.

Meanwhile, Zohran Mamdani (D), who represents District 36, covering sections of Astoria and Long Island City, and Jessica González-Rojas (D), representing District 34, were unchallenged.

Alicia Hynman (D) of District 29, David Weprin (D) of District 24, Khaleel Anderson (D) of District 31, Jeffrion Aubry (D) of District 35, Jennifer Rajkumar (D) of District 38, and Catalina Cruz (D) of District 39, were unchallenged.

Several assemblymembers from Queens did fight off Republican challengers.

Nily Rozic, of District 25, Edward C Braunstein, of District 26, Daniel Rosenthal of District 27, and Vivian Cook, District 32, all won convincingly.

Ron Kim, of District 40, narrowly retained his seat, beating Sharon Liao by 49.04 percent to 45.45 percent. The district covers Downtown Flushing, Linden Hill and Murray Hill.

Stacey G. Pheffer Amato (D), however, was defeated by Republican Thomas P. Sullivan for the 23rd Assembly seat, according to unofficial election results. Sullivan generated 49.24 percent of the votes to Amato’s 48.44 percent, representing a 246-vote difference. The seat covers parts of Howard Beach, Ozone Park and a section of the Rockaway peninsula.