If you’re a typical voter, the race between President Donald Trump (R) and former Vice President Joe Biden (D) has probably been commanding your attention for the past few months. To be sure, it’s an incredibly important race that will have a huge impact on the future of the country. However, it is also important not to neglect the down-ballot races. The presidential race may be a foregone conclusion in New York, but there are several local races that are more competitive. These races will determine the fate of the laws and policies that directly impact your neighborhood: your schools, your roads, your hospitals.
Races to Watch
Assembly District 76
Due to a filing error, Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright (D-Upper East Side, Yorkville) was disqualified from running as a Democrat for her re-election bid. Lou Puliafito (R) saw this as a rare opportunity to flip the assembly district red, and threw his hat into the ring. Puliafito, whose campaign is entirely grassroots, hopes to fill the Assembly seat with “an average person… who’s had an average life.”
Seawright, meanwhile, is running on the “Rise and Unite Party” ticket, having been disallowed from running on the Democratic or Working Families Party tickets.
State Senate District 28
Michael Zumbluskas will be challenging State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Upper East Side, Lenox Hill) for the third time to date. Zumbluskas has run against Krueger twice before, in 2014 and 2016; in both races, he lost handily, taking just over 25 percent of the vote each time.
Despite this, Zumbluskas has argued that his past runs, while unsuccessful, have at least had an influence on Krueger’s administration. He has claimed, for instance, that she hadn’t passed any significant legislation until he called her out on her inaction during his 2014 campaign.
To look up who will be on your particular ballot, click here.
Down-Ballot Races
House of Representatives
District 7
Lower East Side and East Village; Also in Queens – Maspeth, Ridgewood, and Woodhaven; Also in Brooklyn – Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Bushwick, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Dumbo, East New York, East Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Gowanus, Red Hook, Sunset Park, and Williamsburg.
- Nydia Velázquez (D)*
- Brian Kelly (R)
- Gilbert Midonnet (L)
District 10
Upper West Side, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, SoHo, Greenwich Village, TriBeCa, the Financial District, Battery Park City; Also in Brooklyn: Borough Park, Kensington, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and Gravesend.
- Jerrold Nadler (D)*
- Cathy Bernstein (R)
- Michael Madrid (L)
District 12
Lower East Side and East Village; Also in Queens: Maspeth, Ridgewood, Woodside. Also in Brooklyn: Bushwick, Greenpoint, Red Hook, East New York, Brooklyn Heights, Sunset Park, Williamsburg.
- Carolyn Maloney (D)*
- Carlos Santiago-Cano (R)
- Steven Kolln (L)
District 13
Marble Hill, Inwood, Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights, Manhattanville, Morningside Heights, the Upper West Side.
- Adriano Espaillat (D)*
- Lovelynn Gwinn (R)
- Christopher Morris-Perry (C)
State Senate
District 26
Lower Manhattan. Also, in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Waterfront,
- Brian Kavanagh (D)*
- Lester Chang (R)
- District 28
District 28
Upper East Side, Gramercy, Murray Hill, Midtown.
- Liz Krueger (D)*
- Michael Zumbluskas (R)
District 29
Upper Manhattan, Randalls Island, Roosevelt Island, Central Park; Also South Bronx.
- Jose M. Serrano (D)*
- Jose A. Colon (R)
District 30
Harlem, East Harlem, El Barrio, Upper West Side, Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights, Morningside Heights.
- Brian Benjamin (D)*
- Oz Sultan (R)
District 31
Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Morningside Heights, the Upper West Side, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea.
- Robert Jackson (D)*
- Melinda Crump (R)
State Assembly
District 66
Greenwich Village, the East Village, the West Village, Tribeca, Battery Park City.
- Deborah Glick (D)*
- Tamara Lashchyk (R)
District 68
El Barrio/East Harlem, Central Harlem, Upper East Side.
- Robert Rodriguez (D)*
- Daby Carreras (R)
District 73
Upper East Side, Midtown East, Turtle Bay, Sutton Place.
- Dan Quart (D)*
- Judith Graham (R)
District 76
Upper East Side, Yorkville, Roosevelt Island.
- Louis Puliafito (R)
- Rebecca Seawright (Rise and Unite Party)
(* denotes incumbent)
