Dems Duke It Out; GOP Senate Race
Democrats and Republicans across the state will head to the polls this Tuesday, June 26, to select their parties’ candidates for U.S. House and Senate seats in the November general election.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Tuesday at designated polling places. Only registered Democratic or Republican voters are eligible to participate in their respective party’s primary.
Much of the attention in Queens will be centered around the race for the Democratic nomination for the new Sixth Congressional District seat, which encompasses parts of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Rego Park, as well as eastern Queens neighborhoods.
Four Democrats are on the ballot for the Congressional nomination: City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley of Glendale, Assemblyman Rory Lancman of Hillcrest, Assemblywoman Grace Meng of Flushing and physician Robert Mittman of Bayside.
The winner of the primary will face the presumptive Republican nominee for the seat, City Council Member Daniel Halloran, in the Nov. 6 general election.
Voters in Ridgewood living generally east of Forest Avenue will be participating in the Sixth Congressional District race, but voters living west of Forest Avenue and in Woodhaven will be choosing a Democratic Party nominee for the Seventh Congressional District seat.
That district also includes Cypress Hills and Bushwick, among other Brooklyn neighborhoods, and goes as far west as Manhattan. Most of the area is currently in the 12th Congressional District represented by Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who is being challenged for re-election in Tuesday’s primary by three Democratic opponents: City Council Member Erik Martin Dilan of Bushwick, economist Daniel O’Connor of Manhattan and professor George Martinez of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Democrats in Ozone Park, Howard Beach and Lindenwood will be choosing their party’s nominee for the new Eighth Congressional District seat, which includes eastern and central Brooklyn neighborhoods. Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries of Prospect Heights is facing City Council Member Charles Barron of East New York.
Four candidates are seeking election to the new Fifth Congressional District seat in southeastern Queens, which also includes parts of South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill and all of the Rockaways. Rep. Gregory Meeks is facing a challenge from three other Democrats in the party’s primary: former City Council Member Allan Jennings, community organizer Joseph Marthone and attorney Mike Scala.
Republicans in Brooklyn and Queens will join other party members across the state in a primary to elect their nominee to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the November general election. Rep. Bob Turner of Breezy Point, attorney Wendy Long of Manhattan and Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos the three candidates on the ballot.
For more information on voting or to find a polling place, call 1-212- VOTE-NYC or visit www.vote.nyc.gov.
Before the November general election, registered Democrats and Republicans will again head to the polls in September to choose candidates for statewide legislative offices.
