Hello from chilly Queens, where spring is a concept we apparently only know from books anymore. Anyway, our first election cycle of the year in New York has come early with 11 special elections to the legislature—two in the Senate and nine in the Assembly—on Tuesday.
The main defense for the Democrats is Senate District 37, a Westchester County seat that swung to Hillary in 2016. Democrats also have three safe seats in NYC and one seat in the Buffalo area that’s only kind of a defense; you’ll read about it at the end. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans are defending three seats in Long Island and two outside of Albany. The seat-by-seat breakdown follows.
Senate District 32
This is an open seat in the Bronx, vacated by Democrat Rubén Díaz Sr. following his election to the New York City Council. The Democratic nominee is Assemblyman Luis Sepúlveda, while the Republican nominee is Patrick Delices, an educator who ran for the City Council in 2017 and got 3.5 percent of the vote. Also on the ballot is Reform Party candidate Pamela Stewart-Martinez, the President of the Bronx High School Federation. She ran against Sepúlveda in the Democratic primary in 2016 and lost 73-27.
Unsurprisingly, this is a heavily Democratic seat, having gone 93-5 for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and 97-3 for Barack Obama in 2012.
Senate District 37
This is an open Democratic seat in Westchester County. George Latimer resigned following his election as Westchester County Executive. The Democratic nominee here is Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, while Republicans have nominated former Rye City Councilwoman Julie Killian. Killian ran for this seat in 2016 and lost 56-44 to Latimer.
Westchester County swung hard to Clinton in 2016, and this district felt that swing: In 2016, she won 59-38 here, while in 2012, Barack Obama won 54-45.
Assembly District 5
This is an open Republican seat in Suffolk County, taking in Ronkonkoma, Holbrook, and Centereach. Alfred Graf resigned to take a judgeship on the 5th District Court. The Democrats have nominated Deborah Slinkosky, a former member of the Sachem School Board. Slinkosky ran against Graf twice, losing 67-32 in 2014 and 64-35 in 2016. The Republicans have nominated Graf's former Chief of Staff, Doug Smith.
This seat went 60-36 for Donald Trump in 2016 but only backed Mitt Romney by a 51-47 margin in 2012.
Assembly District 10
This is another open Republican seat in Suffolk County, this one including Melville and Huntington Station. It was vacated by Chad Lupinacci, who became the Huntington Town supervisor. The Democratic nominee for this race is Steve Stern, a former Suffolk County legislator who ran for Congress in 2016 and lost the primary to Tom Suozzi. The Republican nominee is Janet Smitelli, an attorney.
This seat went 52-45 for Clinton in 2016 and 51-48 for Obama in 2012.
Assembly District 17
This is an open Republican seat in Nassau County, picking up East Meadow and Levittown. Thomas McKevitt resigned following his election to the Nassau County Legislature. This election is a battle between two millennials: Democrat Matthew Malin, a Nassau County Board of Elections employee, is 25, while Republican John Mikulin, an attorney, is 30. Malin ran for this seat in 2016 and lost 63-37.
Like the 5th, this seat swung hard to Trump: It voted 58-39 for him but only backed Romney by a 53-46 margin.
Assembly District 39
This is an open Democratic seat in Queens, taking in Elmhurst and Corona. Francisco Moya vacated the seat after being elected to the City Council. Democrat Ari Espinal, a former aide to Moya, is unopposed in this 83-15 Clinton seat. However, she will likely face a primary challenge from Catalina Cruz, who also sought the special election nomination, in September.
Assembly District 74
This is an open Democratic seat in Manhattan, snaking up the East River from the Lower East Side to Midtown. In another game of Special Election Musical Chairs, this seat is open because Brian Kavanagh was elected to the State Senate in a special election last November. The Democratic candidate here is attorney Harvey Epstein, while the Republican candidate is Bryan Cooper, a community activist and event planner. Cooper ran against Kavanagh twice, losing by the same 85-15 margin in 2008 and 2014. Also on the ballot are Green Party nominee Adrienne Craig-Williams, a student teacher and graduate student at Hunter College, and Reform Party nominee Juan Pagan, a perennial candidate who has run in several Democratic primaries.
Unsurprisingly, this is another heavily Democratic seat, having gone 85-11 for Clinton and 82-16 for Obama.
Assembly District 80
This is an open Democratic seat in the Bronx. Mark Gjonaj resigned following his election to the City Council. The Democratic nominee here is Nathalia Fernandez, Gjonaj's former chief of staff. The Republican nominee is Gene DeFrancis, a Navy veteran and the founder of the Allerton International Merchants Association.
Just like the district above, this seat is strongly Democratic: It backed Clinton 82-16 and Obama 84-15.
Assembly District 102
This is an open Republican seat just southwest of Albany. Peter Lopez resigned upon his appointment as an EPA administrator. The Democratic candidate is Aidan O'Connor Jr., a Greene County Legislator, while the Republican nominee is Christopher Teague, the Schoharie Town Supervisor. Also on the ballot is teacher Wes Laraway, running on the Best Choice ticket.
This seat went 59-36 for Trump and 52-46 for Romney.
Assembly District 107
This is an open Republican seat just east of Albany. Steven McLaughlin resigned to become Rensselaer County Executive. The Democratic nominee is Cynthia Doran, while the Republican nominee is Jacob Ashby. Both serve in the Rensselaer County Legislature.
This seat flipped to Trump in 2016, having voted for him 49-45 after going 53-45 for Obama.
Assembly District 142
Rounding out the list is an open seat in Erie County. Mickey Kearns resigned following his election as Erie County Clerk. Party ID is a little unclear here, as Kearns is a registered Democrat, but was initially elected to the Assembly in a 2012 special election on the Republican ticket, ran as a Democrat and was cross-nominated by the Republicans in the three successive elections, and finally won election to the Clerk's office last year as a Republican.
The Democratic nominee is Patrick Burke, an Erie County Legislator. Republicans are hoping for a repeat of the 2012 special election that elected Kearns, as they have nominated a registered Democrat again, teacher Erik Bohen, who has promised to caucus with the Democrats and support the Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Carl Heastie.
This is another seat that flipped to Trump, having gone 51-45 for him after voting 54-44 for Obama.
