Early results are in as Election Day comes to a close
BY ZACH GEWELB AND JACOB KAYE
Election Day has come and gone and
early results for the Queens races have
started to trickle in.
Polling places across Queens were
open one last time on Nov. 3 from 6 a.m.
until 9 p.m. Although over 250,000 voters
in Queens cast their ballot early – accounting
for about 22 percent of all the
early votes cast in New York City – the
results of both national and local races
will likely be unknown for some time, as
thousands of absentee ballots must still
be counted.
While a final picture was not clear
as Election Day came to a close Tuesday
night, here are the early, unofficial results
from the city’s Board of Elections
as of Wednesday morning.
In addition to the presidential election
between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, a
handful of other races also appeared on
the ballot in Queens. Here is a full list of
every candidate running for office in the
borough, with early results as of Wednesday
morning, Nov. 4.
Queens borough president
Voters wait in line at Queen of Angels Parish Center in Sunnyside. Photo by Dean Moses
While the borough may not know definitively who the next Queens borough
president is for days or weeks, Councilman Donovan Richards holds an
early lead in the race.
Richards, a Democrat from southeast Queens, received about 67 percent
of the vote, or about 380,449 votes as of Wednesday morning, Nov. 4, with
around 96 percent of scanners reported. His Republican opponent, Joann
Ariola, had 173,056 votes, while third party candidate Dao Yin held 11,696
votes.
Richards beat out four challengers to win the Democratic primary for
Queens borough president in June and has served in the City Council since
2013.
Running on the Republican, Conservative and Save Our City party lines,
Ariola is the chairwoman of the Queens County Republican Party.
Third Congressional District
Incumbent Tom Suozzi leads the race against Howard Rabin (Libertarian)
and George Devolder-Santos (Republican) with more than 54 percent of
the vote, with nearly 96 percent of precincts reported as of Wednesday morning.
Devolder-Santos is trailing Suozzi with more than 45 percent of the vote,
followed by Rabin. Suozzi was first elected to Congress in 2016. He beat out a
Republican challenger in 2018, earning 59 percent of the vote. Rabin is running
against Suozzi on the Libertarian party line. This is his first bid for
public office. Devolder-Santos is challenging Suozzi on the Republican and
Conservative party line. This is his first bid for public office.
Fifth Congressional District
Incumbent Gregory Meeks (Democrat) is running unopposed and has
garnered 99 percent of the vote with 97 percent of precincts reported as
of Wednesday morning. He’s held his seat in southeast Queens since 1998.
Meeks also serves as the chairman of the Queens Democratic Party.
Sixth Congressional District
Incumbent Grace Meng (Democrat) is leading Thomas Zmich (Republican),
having recorded nearly 63 percent of the vote with 97 percent of precincts
reported as of Wednesday morning. Meng is vying for her fifth term
in Congress. She is the first and only legislator of Asian descent to represent
New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. She won 90 percent of the
vote in 2018.
Seventh Congressional District
Incumbent Nydia Velazquez (Democrat) is leading Brian Kelly (Republican)
and Gilbert Midonnet (Libertarian) with nearly 83 percent of the vote
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.8 COM | NOV. 6-NOV. 12, 2020
and 98 percent of precincts reported as of Wednesday morning. Velazquez is
a longtime congresswoman, having served in the legislative body since 1993.
Kelly previously ran for City Council in 2017, state Senate in 2010 and 2016
and state Assembly in 2014. He has never won a general election. Midonnet is
a software developer from Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
Eighth Congressional District
Incumbent Hakeem Jeffries (Democrat) is leading Garfield Wallace (Republican),
having recorded nearly 83 percent of the vote with 94 percent precincts
reported as of Wednesday morning. Jeffries has served in Congress
since 2013. Jeffries won over 94 percent of the vote in 2018.
12th Congressional District
Longtime Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (Democratic) is leading Carlos
Santiago-Cano (Republican) and Steven Kolln (Libertarian) with nearly
79 percent of the vote, with 98 percent of the precincts reported as of Wednesday
morning. Maloney faced a tough challenge during June’s Democratic
primaries, eking out a victory over three progressive challengers. One of the
top Democrats in Congress, Maloney has served in the body since 1993.
14th Congressional District
Incumbent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat) is leading John Cummings
(Republican) and Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (SAM), having recorded
nearly 69 percent of the vote with 99 percent precincts reported as of Wednesday
morning. Cummings trails with more than 30 percent of the vote. Progressive
star Ocasio-Cortez, who shocked the Queens Democratic party by
defeating its leader in 2018, aims to win her second general election. This is
Cummings’ first time running for public office.
10th State Senate District
Incumbent James Sanders Jr. (Democrat) is running unopposed and has
recorded 99 percent of the vote, with 98 percent of precincts reported as of
Wednesday morning. Sanders has served in the state Senate since 2013 after
previously serving in the New York City Council.
11th State Senate District
Incumbent John Liu (Democrat) is leading Elisa Nahoum (Republican)
with nearly 58 percent of the vote as of Wednesday morning, with 98 percent
of precincts reported. Liu is seeking his second term in the New York State
Senate. Liu previously served as the city’s comptroller and as a councilman.
Nahoum, who has been endorsed by the Police Benevolent Association, is
running for public office for the first time.