NYC 2023 Primary Election

June 14, 2023

MEMORANDUM

   
FROM: Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies

 
DATE: June 13, 2023

 
RE: New York City 2023 Primaries

 

Primary Election Overview:

  • The New York City primary elections are being held on June 27, 2023. All 51 members of the City Council are up for re-election, along with the District Attorneys for the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, civil court judges, and judicial convention delegates.
    • Early voting will be available between June 17 and June 25.
    • You can check voter information here.
  • Council candidates are running in 2023, two years after the last election, because NYC recently underwent significant redistricting following the 2020 Census.
    • Information about your district and how it has changed is available here.
  • This is the second time that New York City is utilizing ranked choice voting, allowing New Yorkers to rank up to five candidates in order of preference.
  • Below are the races for City Council and District Attorneys, sorted into particularly competitive races to watch, contested races where the incumbent is favored to win, and uncontested races.
    • This analysis is based on currently available information and subject to change.

Primary Races to Watch:

Below are primary races in which the incumbent is expected to have a significant reelection challenge. Unless otherwise noted, all candidates are Democrats.

* = Likely to be a contested general election race, in addition to contested primary

District 1 Incumbent Christopher Marte is defending his seat in Lower Manhattan. More moderate opponents Susan Lee (who also ran for the seat in 2021) and Ursila Jung are encouraging their supporters to rank each other as #1 and #2 in ranked choice voting.

·         Christopher Marte – Incumbent

·         Ursila Jung

·         Susan Lee

·         Pooi Stewart
District 9 Incumbent Kristin Richardson Jordan has withdrawn from the race, though she will still appear on the ballot. Two Assembly members, Inez Dickens and Al Taylor, are in the race to represent Central Harlem, in addition to Yusef Salaam, member of the Exonerated Five.

·         Kristin Richardson Jordan – Incumbent – WITHDRAWN

·         Inez Dickens

·         Yusef Salaam

·         Al Taylor
District 13* Incumbent Marjorie Velazquez has received several labor union endorsements, but has been out-fundraised by her challengers, who have focused on opposing development in the district, following the city’s controversial rezoning in the district.

Democrat

·         Marjorie Velazquez – Incumbent

·         Irene Estrada

·         Bernadette Ferrara

·         John Perez

Republican

·         George Havranek

·         Kristy Marmorato

·         Hasime Samantha Zherka
District 19* Incumbent Vickie Paladino is running unopposed for the Republican nomination. However, the Democratic primary is contested, with Tony Avella, former Councilman and State Senator, and Paul Graziano both running for the seat again.

Republican

·         Vickie Paladino – Incumbent

Democrat

·         Tony Avella

·         Christopher Bae

·         Paul Graziano
District 29 Incumbent Lynn Schulman is facing challenges from union lawyer Ethan Felder and Sukhjinder Singh Nijjar, a leader in the Sikh community.

·         Lynn Schulman – Incumbent

·         Ethan Felder

·         Sukhjinder Singh Nijjar
District 41 Incumbent Darlene Mealy is one of only two Democratic Council incumbents not supported by Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Mealy has a few challengers, notably Isis Mcintosh Green, former leader of the Progressive Democrats Political Association.

·         Darlene Mealy – Incumbent

·         Reginald Bowman

·         Isis Mcintosh Green

·         Joyce Shearin
District 42 Incumbent Charles Barron has been an outspoken socialist member of the Council and Assembly for the last 20 years. His opponent Chris Banks has received some high-profile donations, including from Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, and been endorsed by the Carpenters Union.

·         Charles Barron – Incumbent

·         Jamilah Almansoob-Rose

·         Chris Banks
District 43* Incumbent Justin Brannan currently represents District 43. However, the lines have changed significantly and Brannan is now running in district 47 (more info below). In the redistricting process, District 43 was redrawn as a majority-minority district for the Asian community. Candidates Wai Yee Chan and Susan Zhuang previously worked for the Council and Assembly, and Stanley Ng is an education advocate. Vito Labella is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Republican

·         Vito Labella

Democrat

·         Wai Yee Chan

·         Stanley Ng

·         Susan Zhuang
District 47* Incumbent Ari Kagan switched parties from Democrat to Republican at the end of 2022, and he is running for the first time on the Republican line in this primary. Justin Brannan, who currently represents District 43, will be running in District 47, which now includes many of the neighborhoods he represents in his current Council district.

Republican

·         Ari Kagan – Incumbent

·         Anna Belfore-Delfaus

·         Avery Pereira

Democrat

·         Justin Brannan – Incumbent in 43

·         Anthony Batista Perez

 

Contested Primary Races:

Below are primary races which are contested, but the incumbent is expected to win. Unless otherwise noted, all candidates are Democrats.

Queens DA ·         Melinda Katz – Incumbent

·         George Grasso

·         Devian Daniels
Bronx DA ·         Darcel Clark – Incumbent

·         Tess Cohen
District 2 ·         Carlina Rivera – Incumbent

·         Allie Ryan
District 12 ·         Kevin Riley – Incumbent

·         Aisha Hernandez-Ahmed

·         Pamela Hamilton-Johnson
District 14 ·         Pierina Sanchez – Incumbent

·         Rachel Bradshaw
District 15 ·         Oswald Feliz – Incumbent

·         Jose Padilla, Jr.
District 16 ·         Althea Stevens – Incumbent

·         Cynthia Cox
District 17 ·         Rafael Salamanca – Incumbent

·         Gonzalo Duran
District 21 ·         Francisco Moya – Incumbent

·         Hiram Monserrate
District 22 ·         Tiffany Caban – Incumbent

·         Charles Castro
District 23 ·         Linda Lee – Incumbent

·         Steve Behar

·         Rubaiya Rahman
District 25 ·         Shekar Krishnan – Incumbent

·         Ricardo Pacheco
District 26 ·         Julie Won – Incumbent

·         Lorenzo Brea

·         Hailie Kim
District 27 ·         Nantasha Williams – Incumbent

·         Jabari Bell

·         Joanne Moreno
District 48 ·         Inna Vernikov – Incumbent

·         Igor Kazatsker

 

Uncontested Primary Candidates:

Staten Island DA Michael McMahon
District 3 Erik Bottcher
District 4 Keith Powers
District 5 Julie Menin
District 6 Gale Brewer
District 7 Shaun Abreu
District 8 Diana Ayala
District 10 Carmen De La Rosa
District 11 Eric Dinowitz
District 18 Amanda Farias
District 19 Vickie Paladino
District 20 Sandra Ung
District 24 Jim Gennaro
District 28 Adrienne Adams (Speaker)
District 30 Robert Holden
District 31 Selvena Brooks-Powers
District 32 Joann Ariola
District 33 Lincoln Restler
District 34 Jennifer Gutierrez
District 35 Crystal Hudson
District 36 Chi Osse
District 37 Sandy Nurse
District 38 Alexa Aviles
District 39 Shahana Hanif
District 40 Rita Joseph
District 44 Kalman Yeger
District 45 Farah Louis
District 46 Mercedes Narcisse
District 49 Kamillah Hanks
District 50 David Carr
District 51 Joseph Borelli

 

Authors

About Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies

Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, an affiliate of the international law firm Cozen O’Connor, is a bipartisan government relations practice representing clients before the federal government and in cities and states throughout the country. With offices in Washington D.C., Richmond, Albany, New York City, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Chicago, and Santa Monica, the firm’s public strategies professionals offer a full complement of government affairs services, including legislative and executive branch advocacy, policy analysis, assistance with government procurement and funding programs, and crisis management. Its client base spans multiple industries, including healthcare, transportation, hospitality, education, construction, energy, real estate, entertainment, financial services, and insurance.

About Cozen O’Connor

Established in 1970, Cozen O’Connor has over 775 attorneys who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. The firm counsels clients on their most sophisticated legal matters in all areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, and regulatory law. Representing a broad array of leading global corporations and middle-market companies, Cozen O’Connor serves its clients’ needs through 31 offices across two continents.

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