U.S. SENATE
? U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand easily won her primary race against challenger Gail Goode. Gillibrand, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor David Paterson after former Senator Hillary Clinton was named Secretary of State, will now face Republican Joe DioGuardi in the November election. DioGuardi won a three-way Republican primary on Tuesday night against David Malpass and Bruce Blakeman.
? In the other Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Jay Townsend defeated Gary Bernsten by a more than 10 percent margin. Townsend will now face U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer in November as Schumer did not have a primary challenge on Tuesday.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
? In what was perhaps the most hotly contested primary of the night, Manhattan State Senator Eric Schneiderman pulled off a narrow victory over four other Democratic candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in the race to replace current Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
With 97 percent of the votes counted, Schneiderman received 34.1 percent of the vote, edging Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice who had received 31.82 percent of the vote. Sean Coffey finished third receiving 16.48 percent of the vote, Richard Brodsky fourth with 9.78 percent and Eric Dinallo fifth with 7.82 percent of the vote. Schneiderman will now take on Republican Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan in the November election.
CONGRESS DISTRICT 5
? Queens and Long Island Congressmember Gary Ackerman defeated primary challenger Pat Mehar by a nearly two-to-one margin. Ackerman, who has represented parts of Nassau County and eastern Queens in Congress for 27 years, will face Republican Dr. James Milano in the November general election. Milano, a physician who was endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties, defeated Elizabeth Berney in the GOP primary.
ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 24
? Incumbent Assemblymember David Weprin cruised to victory over community activist Bob Friedrich in the Democratic primary in eastern Queens. Weprin, who beat Friedrich in a Special Election for the seat earlier this year, may have to run against him again if Friedrich runs in November on the Republican or Conservative ballot line.
ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 28
? Voters in central and western Queens chose to send Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi back to Albany as they picked him by a 60 percent to 40 percent margin over challenger Joseph Fox. Hevesi, the son of former State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, has represented District 28 in the Assembly since 2005.
ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 33
? Southern Queens voters picked incumbent Assemblymember Barbara Clark by a decisive margin in her primary battle with community organizer Clyde Vanel. Clark received 67 percent of the vote to Vanel’s 33 percent with less than 5,000 total votes cast.
