After an unusually eventful primary season, New York is just six weeks away from the general election, when voters will make their final decisions on representatives from the hyperlocal to federal levels.
At the ballot box, Brooklynites will choose candidates for governor, Attorney General and state Comptroller as well as local representatives in Congress and the state Senate and Assembly. There will also be a few ballot measures and candidates for local judicial positions. Check out Brooklyn Paper’s sister site, PoliticsNY, for more information on the statewide elections.
Not every local race is competitive — in Democrat-heavy Brooklyn, some incumbents are cruising to their next term unopposed. But some longtime politicos are facing challengers from the opposing party, and, thanks to redistricting, districts old and new are gearing up for some interesting races, and we’ll break down each one and who’s running for what.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NY-7: Williamsburg, Greenpoint, parts of Bushwick, Cypress Hills, and Queens
- Democrat – Nydia Velázquez (incumbent)
- Republican – Juan Pagan
NY-8: Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Marine Park, Mill Basin, parts of East New York and Bedford-Stuyvesant
- Democrat – Hakeem Jeffries (incumbent)
- Republican – Yuri Dashevsky
NY-9: Crown Heights, Flatbush, parts of Kensington, Midwood, and Brownsville
- Democrat – Yvette Clarke (incumbent)
- Republican – Menachem Raitport
NY-10: Sunset Park, Red Hook, Gowanus, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, parts of Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, and Manhattan
Redistricting dramatically changed the boundaries of NY-10, which had long been represented by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, and the district was left without an incumbent when Nadler chose to run in an all-Manhattan district. A dozen candidates ran in the Democratic primary for the left-leaning district, and former federal prosecutor Dan Goldman pulled out a narrow win over state Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou.
- Democrat – Dan Goldman
- Republican – Benine Hamdan
NY-11: Fort Hamilton, Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Staten Island
In another contentious congressional race, Republican incumbent Nicole Malliotakis will once again face off against former congressmember Max Rose, a Democrat who lost to Malliotakis after one term in office in the city’s only swing district.
- Democrat – Max Rose
- Republican – Nicole Malliotakis (incumbent)
U.S. SENATE
- Democrat – Chuck Schumer (incumbent)
- Republican – Joe Pinion
STATE SENATE
A number of North Brooklyn state senate seats will not appear on the ballot this fall. In many cases, no candidates rose up to challenge the sitting senator. In the brand-new SD59, Democrat Kristen Gonzalez won the crowded Democratic primary, and, with no Republican challenger, is headed to the statehouse come January.
SD17 – Parts of Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Kensington, and Sunset Park
Redistricting created an all-new SD17, the first and only Asian-majority state Senate district in Brooklyn. There is no incumbent in SD17 — Simcha Felder, the previous representative, is running instead in SD22, which more closely resembles SD17’s old map — so the race is open to a brand-new candidate.
- Democrat – Iwen Chu
- Republican – Vito LaBella
SD23 – Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Sea Gate
State Senator Diane Savino chose not to seek re-election after 17 years in Albany and endorsed her former staffer Jessica Scarcella-Spanton in the Democratic primary. Scarcella-Spanton won the party nomination and will face off against former real estate broker Joseph Tirone in November.
- Democrat – Jessica Scarcella-Spanton
- Republican – Joseph Tirone Jr.
SD26 – DUMBO, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Gowanus, Red Hook, parts of Park Slope, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights
There’s a familiar name on the ballot in SD26, though the representative would be new to the district. Redistricting pushed two-term state Senator Andrew Gounardes out of his old stomping grounds in SD22 in search of friendlier and more familiar territory. Gounardes won the Democratic primary with two-thirds of the vote and will face off against another well-known politico: Brian Fox, who last year lost the race for Councilmember Justin Brannan’s seat by a narrow margin.
- Democrat – Andrew Gounardes
- Republican – Brian Fox
STATE ASSEMBLY
AD44 – Parts of Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Kensington, and Borough Park
- Democrat – Robert Carroll (incumbent)
- Republican – Brenda Horton
AD45 – Manhattan Beach, parts of Brighton Beach, Gravesend, and Sheepshead Bay
- Democrat – Steven Cymbrowitz (incumbent)
- Republican – Michael Novakhov
AD46 – Parts of Coney Island, Dyker Heights, and Fort Hamilton
Alec Brook-Krasny, who represented AD46 from 2006 to 2015 before leaving the legislature to work in the private sector, is staging a political comeback with one big change: a new political party. The former assemblymember announced early this year that he was changing his party affiliation and would run in the district as a Republican. He’s running against incumbent Democrat Mathylde Frontus, who took over the seat in 2018.
- Democrat – Mathylde Frontus (incumbent)
- Republican – Alec Brook-Krasny
AD47 – Parts of Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, Gravesend and Bensonhurst
- Democrat – William Colton (incumbent)
- Republican – Dmitriy Kugel
AD49 – Parts of Dyker Heights, Borough Park, Bensonhurst and Sunset Park
- Democrat – Peter J. Abbate, Jr. (Incumbent)
- Republican – Lester Chang
AD51 – Sunset Park, Red Hook
- Democrat – Marcela Mitaynes (incumbent)
- Republican – Timothy Peterson
AD52 – Navy Yard, DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, parts of Carroll Gardens and Gowanus
- Democrat – Jo Anne Simon (incumbent)
- Republican – Brett Wynkoop
AD54 – Parts of Bushwick, Cypress Hills, and Queens
- Democrat – Erik Dilan (incumbent)
- Republican – Korshed A. Chowdhury
AD55 – Parts of Ocean Hill, Brownsville, and Bedford-Stuyvesant
- Democrat – Latrice Walker (incumbent)
- Republican – Berneda Jackson
AD58 – East Flatbush, parts of Canarsie, Brownsville
Incumbent Democrat Monique Chandler-Waterman hasn’t repped AD58 for long — the founder of local nonprofit East Flatbush Village won both a spring special election and the June Democratic primary this year, trouncing her opponent Hercules Reid, who had won the endorsement of Mayor Eric Adams.
In November, Chandler-Waterman will once again face Republican Monique Allen-Davy, a school counselor and human resources professional, who also ran in the special election.
- Democrat – Monique Chandler-Waterman (incumbent)
- Republican – Monique Allen-Davy
Not sure if redistricting changed your usual districts? Use THE CITY’s “Have I Been Redistricted?” tool to find out, and visit the Board of Elections website to find your poll site, see a sample ballot, and get familiar with the candidates
Early voting for the general election begins Oct. 29 and runs through Nov. 6 ahead of Election Day on Nov. 8. New Yorkers must be registered to vote in the election, and the registration deadline in-person and by mail is Oct. 14. If you’ll be out of town for the election or can’t vote in-person, visit the city’s Board of Elections website to request an absentee ballot.
Correction Sept. 23, 2022, 12:17pm: This story previously omitted the race in AD52. We regret the error.
