A Recap of the Congressional Primary Results

In the June 13 Policy Pulse section, we covered each of the competitive June 26 New York City congressional primaries. As a follow up, below we’ve included the results of the races, as well as short descriptions of what happened. The only one of these primary winners expected to face a competitive general election is Republican Rep. Dan Donovan.

9^th District (Central and Southern Brooklyn): Yvette Clarke: 52%, Adem Bunkeddeko: 48%
Democratic incumbent Yvette Clarke, who first took office in 2007, fended off a strong challenge by political newcomer Adem Bunkeddeko. Bunkeddeko received the endorsement of The New York Times and ran on a platform of increasing federal funding for affordable housing in the rapidly gentrifying district.

11^th District (Staten Island, Southern Brooklyn): Dan Donovan: 64%, Michael Grimm: 36%
Former Republican US Rep. Michael Grimm fell far short in challenging his Republican successor Dan Donovan. Grimm served from 2011-2015, until he resigned and later went to prison for tax evasion. Max Rose, a veteran and first-time candidate with sizeable fundraising hauls, was easily nominated in the Democratic primary. Donovan and Rose will face off in New York City’s most competitive congressional general election in November.

12^th District (Manhattan’s East Side, Northern Brooklyn, Western Queens): Carolyn Maloney: 59%, Suraj Patel 41%
The only of the competitive primaries to be occurring in Manhattan, 13-term Democratic incumbent Carolyn Maloney fended off a spirited challenge from 34-year-old hotel executive Suraj Patel. While Maloney had easily dispatched primary opponents in the past, Patel managed to keep the race competitive in spite of ethical questions raised about him and his campaign.

14^th District (Northern Queens, Eastern Bronx): Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: 57.5%, Joe Crowley 42.5%
Long-term Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley was stunningly defeated by 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Crowley is a powerful and high-profile Member of Congress, who was seen as a potential successor to Nancy Pelosi. While Ocasio-Cortez was an underdog, she raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and had strong support from the Democratic Socialists of America. She won with significant support in the rapidly gentrifying areas of the district in the more western portions of Queens.

Before the general election in November, there is still the state primary for statewide positions and the legislature, which will be occurring on Thursday, September 13. AIANY will send out more information about competitive races in an upcoming Policy Pulse.

Pulse Points:

• Sign-up for AIANY’s Zero Waste Challenge has now closed. Over the next few months, participating offices, including the Center for Architecture, will be working to increase the percentage of waste diverted from landfills. AIANY will keep our members updated as the challenge progresses.
• With approval from the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP), the Union Square tech hub heads towards the City Council for approval. Debate is brewing over approval of the project, with some indicating that the project should only be approved if the area nearby is downzoned. More information can be found here.