Gonzalez beats Crowley, and other results from Queens' August primary
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Kristen Gonzalez (center) speaks with voters in Astoria. Gonzalez beat Elizabeth Crowley in the Democratic primary for State Senate District 59. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye
By Jacob Kaye and Rachel Vick
New York City closed the book on its 2022 primary season when polls closed in State Senate and Congressional races on the ballot Tuesday evening.
There were only four contested races in Queens – two in the State Senate and two Congressional races.
Early and unofficial results show that Queens’ most hotly contested race – the race to choose a Democratic nominee for its newest State Senate Seat – has followed in the trend that was set by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018 when she upset Queens County Democratic Party Leader Joe Crowley.
In the State Senate District 59 race between Democratic Socialists of America-backed Kristen Gonzalez, former City Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley and Mike Corbett, a former staffer to City Councilmember Costa Constantinides, Gonzalez was on top by around 6,000 votes – holding around 59 percent of the vote – with 91 percent of scanners reported.
Crowley, who had the backing of the Queens County Democratic Party and whose fundraising numbers far exceeded those of any other candidates in the race, held around 32 percent of the vote.
There remain around 2,220 absentee ballots from Queens voters in the district left to be counted, according to the Board of Elections, but they won’t do much to help Crowley.
Crowley conceded to Gonzalez shortly after 10 p.m., marking her fourth consecutive losing election.
“We put everything into this campaign that we could and sadly tonight have come up short,” Crowley said in a statement. “I can’t thank my supporters, volunteers, and my team enough for their tireless efforts. I congratulated Kristen on her win and wish her all the best.”
Corbett, a distant third in the race, held around 6 percent of the vote, and conceded around 10 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Should Gonzalez win in November, a group of voters in Astoria will be represented by DSA-backed officials in every legislature except the U.S. Senate. The rise to power for the DSA in the area that has taken less than five years. Astoria voters helped propel Ocasio-Cortez to office in 2018, elected Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani in 2020 and City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán in 2021.
“We have this opportunity to set an example for the rest of the city, the rest of the state and the rest of the country,” Gonzalez told the Eagle Tuesday afternoon before the results began to come in. “It’s not only about creating Democratic Socialists at every level of government, but those Democratic Socialists are accountable to the larger community, and for the first time working class people will have a voice at every single level.”
In the primary race for State Senate District 15 between incumbent Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., Japneet Singh and Albert Baldeo, fewer than 7,000 people cast ballots.
Addabbo held the lead early with 56 percent of the vote, with Singh in second with 29 percent and 98 percent of scanners reported in the district spanning parts of Woodhaven, Forest Hills, Glendale, Richmond Hill and Ozone Park. Baldeo, who was formerly convicted on campaign-related charges and who also ran for State Assembly earlier this year, held around 14 percent of the vote.
Longtime Congressmember Nydia Velázquez — the first Puerto Rican to serve in the body — will likely be returning to her seat in the House. With 86 percent of scanners reported, she beat competitor and former mayoral candidate Paperboy Love Prince by more than 16,000 votes.
Velázquez will face Republican Juan Pagan, who ran unopposed, in the November general election.
The only other open seat in Queens came in Congressional District 3, which covers a portion of Eastern Queens but is mostly situated in Long Island.
Robert Zimmerman, a longtime fixture in the Democratic Party, appeared poised for victory with nearly 98 percent of scanners reported. He held over 42 percent of the vote over four other candidates in the race.
Jon Kaiman, a former judge in Nassau County, had around 22 percent of the vote, Melanie D’Arrigo, a progressive candidate backed by the Working Families Party, had around 18 percent of the vote, Joshua Lafazan, a former member of the Nassau County Legislature, held around 12 percent of the vote, and Reema Rasool, a Long Island-based entrepreneur, held around 3 percent of the vote.
For more on Tuesday’s election, click here.
Congress
3rd Congressional District - Democratic 97.8 reported
Jon Kaiman — 22.50 percent (1,439 votes)
Robert P. Zimmerman — 42.53 percent (2,720 votes)
Joshua Alexander Lafazan — 12.93 percent (827 votes)
Reema Rasool — 3.44 percent (227 votes)
Melanie D'Arrigo — 18.25 percent (1,167 votes)
7th Congressional District - Democratic 93.65 percent reported
Paperboy Love Prince — 15.41 percent (3,827 votes)
Nydia Velázquez — 83.23 percent (20,670 votes)
14th Congressional District - Republican 95.96 reported
Tina Forte — 67.17 percent (1,524 votes)
Desi Joseph Cuellar — 31.64 percent (718 votes)
State Senate
15th Senatorial District - Democratic 98.8 percent reported
Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. — 56.56 percent (3,865 votes)
Albert Baldeo — 14 percent (957 votes)
Japneet Singh — 28.86 percent (1,927 votes)
59th Senatorial District - Democratic 92.78 percent reported
Kristen S. Gonzalez — 58.92 percent (12,751 votes)
Elizabeth S. Crowley — 31.77 percent (6,876 votes)
Michael D. Corbett — 6.44 percent (1,394 votes)
