BY THE VILLAGE SUN | There wasn’t a whole lot on the ballot in Downtown Manhattan on primary election day as many incumbents were unopposed for reelection.
Congressmember Dan Goldman, who represents District 10 — Manhattan roughly south of around 14th Street, plus part of Brooklyn — fended off two Democratic challengers. With 95 percent of ballots tallied, he notched around 66 percent of the vote with 22,700, while Evan Hutchison, running on a “ceasefire now” platform, scored 23.5 percent with 8,070 votes, and Bruno Grandsard, who walked his entire district talking to voters, netted 10.5 percent with 3,600 votes.
Goldman was first elected in 2022, beating out a crowded field of candidates in the primary, including then-Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou and Councilmember Carlina Rivera.
In addition, Kristen Gonzalez, a freshman state senator who represents District 59, including Manhattan’s East Side from the United Nations to E. 14th Street, plus parts of Brooklyn and Queens, won reelection with 85 percent of the vote over Gus Lambropoulos. The two notably differed on the issue of congestion pricing, with Gonzalez opposing Governor Hochul’s pause of the contentious plan and her opponent supporting it. Gonzalez was endorsed by the left-wing Democratic Socialists of America.
Many other local Democrat incumbents faced no primary challengers, so their elections were canceled and they automatically became their party’s nominees for the November general election. Among them were Congressmember Jerry Nadler, state Senators Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Brian Kavanagh, and Assemblymembers Deborah Glick, Harvey Epstein, Grace Lee and Charles Fall.
Carol Yost, who lives in Chelsea, said she was surprised to find out there were no elections she could vote in on Tuesday.
“I went to vote in the Democratic primary in my district, [Council] District 3, and for the first time in my life I was turned away,” she said. “All the candidates in my district are running unopposed, and therefore no voting can take place. The person just ahead of me was turned away, too. We’ll get to vote in November, to knock out the Pumpkin Monster and other threats.”
That’s a lot of votes for people with zero name recognition.
Hope someone more experienced will challenge the incumbent in two years, so there will be a real referendum.