Election Day became a major day of victories for Democrats in New York City and Democrats around the country giving hope to a possible usurping of the White House.
Across the country, Virginia Democrats took over control of the state House and the state Senate giving them total control of the state’s government for the first time in 25 years. In a development that shocked many, Democratic candidates won their majorities in the suburbs, an area long dominated by Republicans. One of those victories involved the election of Ghazala Hashmi who became the first Muslim woman elected to state Senate.
In Kentucky, a major upset occurred when media outlets such as NBC News declared that Democrat Andy Beshear defeated Republican Matt Bevin in the gubernatorial election. Beshear leads Bevin by over 5,100 votes with 99 percent of the precincts reporting. While Beshear called for a “smooth transition,” Bevin has refused to concede the race.
But in a possible silver lining for the GOP, Black Republican Daniel Cameron became the first African American to be elected Kentucky State attorney general.
“Mr. Trump, I hope you can tell that Kentucky is Trump Country,” said Cameron during a Trump rally on Monday. “We are proud to stand with you on pro-life issues and here in the commonwealth, we are gonna stand up for people who cannot speak for themselves…We are gonna make sure that Kentucky isn’t a sanctuary state.”
In New York City, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams kept his seat with a reelection victory over Republican Joseph Borelli and Libertarian Devin Balkind. Williams dominated the election with almost 80 percent of the vote, which lets him extend his stay as public advocate after winning a special election in February.
“When I look at the city, one I love, I see an affordable housing and homelessness crisis that’s only getting worse,” said Williams during his victory speech. “I see neighborhoods shifting as rents rise, students struggling for a high quality, equitable education. I see streets that are congested and streets that are dangerous and streets I may need to march down. I see communities pitted against each other, communities ignored, communities displaced.
“My message to each of them, to all of you—New York is for you,” continued Williams.
In the Queens district attorney race, Melinda Katz became the first women to be elected to the position winning her election handily over Republican Joseph Murray with 75% of the vote.
“Together, we will end cash bail,” said Katz at her Election Night gathering at the Queens County Democratic offices. “We know that together, we will protect workers and make our work sites safe for workers out there. And we know that together, we will protect immigrant rights and make sure we don’t have ICE agents in the court of law and in the courtroom because that’s not how you get justice.”
While Katz’s victory may be a win for Democrats, the Queens for DA Accountability Coalition, a coalition of grassroots organizations and advocates centering on Black and Brown immigrant, migrant and other communities impacted by incarceration, said that they will keep pressure on Katz to follow their agenda and abide by Democratic ideals.
“After almost 30 years, a new district attorney will be over-seeing the criminal legal system in Queens—the most diverse borough in New York City. Melinda Katz takes over for Richard Brown, who led an administration resistant to progressive reforms and committed to obstructing both local and state-level efforts to bring more fairness and transparency to the system,” read the statement. “In our efforts to build a stronger Queens community, we look forward to holding DA Katz accountable to the many promises she made during the campaign including, but not limited to, eliminating prosecutions for sex work and marijuana, making data publicly available and ending the use of cash bail.
“We intend to keep pressure on Katz—who refused multiple invitations to meet with our coalition during the campaign—to adopt the full range of demands of our campaign,” the statement concluded.
Farah Louis won her election for the City Council 45th District in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Securing her second term in the seat, Louis beat out Anthony Beckford and David Fite with 93% of the vote.
“Thank you!!” said Louis on Twitter. “Today’s victory marks the end of a nearly year-long campaign for #AUnified45. Campaigning for 3 elections was not easy, some even thought it was impossible to WIN—but GOD. We won the special, primary, & general election because we were determined to lead by example.”
Beckford, leader of the Brooklyn sector of the Copwatch Patrol Unit, isn’t a fan of Louis and took to social media to voice his displeasure with her after she was endorsed by the New York Police Benevolent Association last month.
“Black elected officials like Farah Louis are the ones who are complicit in the brutality our children and community face,” said Beckford on Twitter. “Black electeds like her are just as dangerous as these cops in the video.”
City voters also approved five ballot questions that will change how certain parts of government operate. One includes increasing the size of the Civilian Complaint Review Board to 15 members and protects their budget from any attempts to cut funding. Another ballot measure will now let two members of the conflicts of interest board be approved by the public advocate and comptroller rather than have the entire board approved by the mayor.
The Department of City Planning will now have to send a detailed summary of uniform land use review procedure projects to the borough board, the community board and the borough president 30 days before public review. Another passed ballot measure will result in budget changes including setting up a “rainy day” fund for when the city encounters any financial problems.
But the biggest measure passed involves voters now being able to rank the candidates in special elections for mayor, comptroller, borough president, city council and public advocate. Voters would pick their top five choices. Depending on who wins out of the top five, the top two will then go against each other with the votes deciding the winner. The ones who lost in the first round will have their vote transferred to either the first or second choice depending on where they landed on the voter’s list. A second counting can be avoided if one candidate wins 50% of the vote.