Democrats defeated Republican state lawmakers across southern Brooklyn on Tuesday, undoing gains the GOP had made in the area over the past several election cycles.
In the 45th Assembly District, Democrat Joey Cohen-Saban beat Republican Assembly Member Michael Novakhov 62% to 38%, PoliticsNY reported. With nearly 95% of scanners counted at 10:45 p.m., Cohen-Saban had 13,622 votes to Novakhov's 8,393. Two years ago, he lost to Novakhov by a few hundred votes.
Next door in the 46th District, Democrat Chris McCreight defeated Republican Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny 56% to 44%, City & State reported, citing unofficial city Board of Elections results as of midnight.
Two other Republicans were trailing. In the 49th Assembly District, Democrat Joyce Xiaoqiong Xie had 53% against Assembly Member Lester Chang. In the overlapping 17th Senate District, Democrat Larry He declared victory over state Sen. Steve Chan with 57%. Neither race had been called as of midnight, according to City & State.
Southern Brooklyn had drifted right as Orthodox Jewish, Chinese and post-Soviet immigrant voters moved toward Republicans, City & State noted. Early voting suggested the trend might break. About 4,700 registered Democrats voted early in the 45th District, compared with roughly 2,100 Republicans, Brooklyn Paper reported.
"We just cleaned house," said Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the outgoing chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
City & State said the results matter for Democrats' push for a supermajority in the state Senate. All results are unofficial, and the Board of Elections is still counting.