The polls have closed in Queens and New York state in the monumental 2018 midterm elections.
The New York City Board of Elections will release unofficial results of all the local races as the ballots are counted citywide. As the numbers are made available to us, we’ll bring you the results for all the Congressional, Assembly and state Senate races affecting Queens.
We’ll also report to you any projections in key statewide races made by media outlets such as the Associated Press and The New York Times.
Stay tuned to QNS and keep refreshing the page this evening as we find out the choices Queens voters made on Election Day! You can also follow us on Twitter to learn more.
9:01 p.m.
As we reported last week, 15 incumbents in Queens don’t have anything to worry about, as they were re-elected without any opposition. Click here to see which Queens lawmakers won another term in office unopposed.
9:02 p.m.
Just like that, we have two projections already from major news outlets in statewide races. As soon as the polls closed, the Associated Press called the U.S. Senate race for Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand. She appears to have won a second term in office over her Republican challenger, Chele Farley.
Meanwhile, AP also projected that Andrew Cuomo will win a third term as New York’s governor over Republican challenger, Dutchess County Executive Mark Molinaro.
9:12 p.m.
Early returns in the 40th Assembly District race in Flushing, where Ron Kim is seeking re-election. He’s already out to a sizable lead over his lone challenger, Reform Party candidate John Scandalios.
9:20 p.m.
In another early return, incumbent state Senator Joe Addabbo is out to a lead over his Republican challenger, Tom Sullivan. With 3.94% of machines counted, Addabbo has 1,603 votes to Sullivan’s 601.
Meanwhile, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato has an early lead on her Republican rival, Matthew Pecorino. With 7% of machines reporting, Amato has 983 votes while Pecorino has 303.
9:25 p.m.
In the intriguing four-way race for the 11th State Senate District lead, Democratic nominee John Liu is out to an early lead. With 11% of the machines reporting, the former City Comptroller has 2,448 votes. Republican nominee Vickie Paladino is sitting in second with 1,008 votes. Incumbent state Senator Tony Avella — whom Liu beat in the September primary, but is still running on third-party lines — is in third with 770 votes. Finally, Conservative Party nominee Simon Minching has just 57 votes to his name; Paladino defeated him in the Republican primary.
9:30 p.m.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democrat who stunned the establishment with her upset June primary victory over 10-term incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley, is looking to solidify her victory tonight. With 38% of the machines reporting, Ocasio-Cortez has 14,975 votes, well ahead of Republican challenger Anthony Pappas (2,813). Crowley, who ceased campaigning, has 1,506 votes on third-party lines.
9:35 p.m.
John Liu remains on cruise control in his bid to win the 11th Senate District. With 31.43% precincts reporting, he’s got 54.1 percent of the vote (12,231), a nearly 7,000 lead over Republican Vickie Paladino )5,534). Incumbent Senator Tony Avella is a distant third with 4,437 votes.
9:50 p.m.
In many other legislative races tonight across Queens, there really isn’t much competition to be found.
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi has a huge lead on Republican challenger Danniel Maio in the 28th Assembly District with more than half of the precincts reporting. Hevesi will likely win another term.
In the 30th Assembly District, Assemblyman Brian Barnwell looks well on his way to winning a second term in office. The Democrat has 78.9% of the vote over Republican challenger Eric Butkiewicz; more than half of the votes have been tallied in that matchup.
Another apparent landslide is taking place in the 33rd Assembly District, where incumbent Democrat Clyde Vanel has a whopping 14,000 vote lead over Republican challenger Lalita Etwaroo.
In Congress, incumbent Congresswoman Grace Meng will win a fourth term in a runaway over her third-party challenger, the Green Party’s Thomas Hillgardner; she has a nearly 50,000 vote advantage on him with half the votes tallied.
Turning to the State Senate, Democratic nominee Jessica Ramos is heading to Albany with an easy win in the 13th State Senate District race. She’s got a 14,000 vote lead on incumbent state Senator Jose Peralta, whom she defeated in the Democratic primary (Peralta remained on third-party lines in the general election).
And in the 16th State Senate District, incumbent Democrat Toby Ann Stavisky is cruising to victory with a 21,000-vote lead over Reform Party challenger Vincent Pazienza.
9:55 p.m.
The one competitive Congressional race affecting Queens — the Third District, which extends into Nassau and Suffolk counties — is so far in the favor of incumbent Congressman Tom Suozzi. The freshman incumbent appears poised to win a second term in office, as he has 60% of the vote over Republican challenger Dan DeBono early in the vote count.
10 p.m.
The 26th Assembly District race is turning into a runaway for incumbent Assemblyman Ed Braunstein. With 60% of the votes counted, Braunstein has 13,724 (66.2%) over Republican challenger David Bressler, who has 7,003 votes (33.8%).
10:05 p.m.
Catalina Cruz will be the first DREAMer to serve in the New York State Legislature. She has a commanding lead in the 39th Assembly District race over incumbent Assemblywoman Ari Espinal. Cruz defeated Espinal in the September Democratic primary; Espinal remained on the general election ballot along third-party lines.
10:10 p.m.
Let’s get another look at the 11th State Senate District race, where John Liu continues to show the way. With 69% of the precincts reporting, he has 27,032 votes (55.2%). Republican Vickie Paladino is a distant second with 11,823 votes (23.9%), and incumbent state Senator Tony Avella is third with 9,978 (20.1%).
10:15 p.m.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on her way to Capitol Hill with a huge win the 14th Congressional District seat outright. She has a commanding lead over Republican nominee Anthony Pappas. With more than 60% of the votes counted, Ocasio-Cortez has 66,584 votes over Pappas, who has 11,755. Congressman Joe Crowley picked up 5,577 votes off third-party lines.
10:20 p.m.
State Senator Joe Addabbo is another big winner on Election Night. He’s got 65% of the vote (57,280) over Republican challenger Tom Sullivan, who received 34.7% (19,895).
“I’m just always pleased when people of the district put their faith in me, I appreciate it and I love what I do,” Addabbo told QNS at his victory party. “Given today, I think early voting. You saw the lines today – on a rainy day – we could have really used early voting.”
10:50 p.m.
John Liu maintains a comfortable advantage in the 11th State Senate District race. With 78.57% of the precincts reporting, Liu has 31,858 votes (55.3%); Republican Vickie Paladino is a distant second with 13,450 votes (23.3%); state Senator Tony Avella is third with 11,461 votes (19.9%).
10:55 p.m.
Another runaway winner on Election Night is Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato of the 23rd District. With 78.82% of all machines counted, Amato has 15,219 votes (72.1%) against Republican Michael Pecorino, who has 5,851 votes (27.8%).
11 p.m.
That’s a wrap on our live blog. Check back with QNS tomorrow for a full report on the results. Thanks!
