Primary Election Results

When the early returns on Tuesday's primary election started coming in shortly after the polls closed, we posted to our Bluesky account that it was shaping up as a big night for Zohran Mamdani and NYC-DSA. That was accurate, as candidates endorsed by New York City's Mayor won every one of their races, and Democratic Socialist candidates nearly did the same. But it was also not quite the full story.

That's because as returns rolled in, the candidates we endorsed also had an outstanding night. While we didn't win every race, 20 of our 28 endorsees won their elections outright on Tuesday, and two others are leading in contests that remain too close to call, but look very promising. Streetsblog NYC has a great rundown here.

It's further validation of a point we've been making for a long time: safer streets and better public transit aren't just good policy – they're good politics. Time and again, candidates who embrace progressive transportation policies, rather than run away from them, are coming out on top. You have to look no further than the aforementioned Mayor Mamdani for evidence of that.

Three of our endorsees in New York City-based Assembly races – David Orkin, Christian Celeste Tate, and Eon Huntley – defeated incumbents with mixed records, at best, on transportation issues. And in Syracuse, Maurice Brown holds a narrow lead in his primary against William Magnarelli, whose tenure as Assembly Transportation Chair has been less than stellar. Streetsblog Empire State has more on that race here.

While on the topic of upstate contests, we made endorsements in six races besides Mr. Brown's. Three of those endorsees won, and two of them, Jon Lipe in Oneida County and Adam Bojak in Buffalo, are almost certain to win in November. The same is true for Mo Brown if his lead holds up once all ballots are counted.

Even in some of the races in which our endorsees came up short, notably Queens's 12th State Senate District and Manhattan's 66th Assembly District, the winning candidates impressed us and are sure to embrace progressive positions on street safety and transit when they take office.

We want to offer or congratulations and gratitude to all of our endorsees, and our deep appreciation to every one of the dozens of candidates who put in the time and effort to participate in our endorsement process. We will continue our work over the summer, and expect to make a number of additional endorsements ahead of the general election. Stay tuned! 

Andrew Gounardes Birthday Fundraiser

Speaking of elected officials who embrace progressive transportation policies, there's nobody in Albany who's stepped up on that front more than State Senator Andrew Gounardes. That's why we've signed on as co-hosts for his birthday fundraiser on Wednesday, July 1st, in DUMBO.

Andrew's been an unequivocal champion for all things street safety since he was elected in 2018, and most recently, his Stop Super Speeders bill passed in the budget during the recently concluded legislative session. Please join us to celebrate his accomplishments and leadership. RSVP here.