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Here are the down-ballot races to watch in the NYC primary
By
David Brand
Published Jun 24, 2025
Modified Jun 24, 2025
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
David Brand
Published Jun 24, 2025
Modified Jun 24, 2025
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The race for mayor wasn’t the only contest worth watching in New York City on Tuesday.
Voters also cast ballots in primary elections for nearly all of the city’s 51 Council seats, as well as Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan borough president positions.
Relatively low-profile seats attracted millions of dollars in outside spending across the city, while moderate challengers attempted to topple incumbents in Democratic primaries in parts of Brooklyn.
Two former councilmembers are trying to oust their successors in elections in Brooklyn and the Bronx. And a disgraced former member of Congress is also attempting a comeback in Manhattan.
Here are the races we’re watching.
Powers vacuum: Manhattan District 4
On the Upper East Side, nepo-politician Virginia Maloney is one of six Democrats vying to replace term-limited incumbent Keith Powers, who ran for Manhattan borough president. Maloney is a product manager at Meta and the daughter of former 15-term Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
The race remained extremely tight with about 90% of the votes tallied late Tuesday. Maloney led with just under 26.8% of the vote, while Vanessa Aronson, a strategy director at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, had about 25.5%.
Rachel Storch, a former Missouri state lawmaker, received 22.8%. The field also includes Ben Wetzler, a New York state housing policy official; Faith Bondy, the president of a local Democratic club; and Luke Florczak, a marine and veteran advocate.
Hanif had enough in Brooklyn District 39
Incumbent Councilmember Shahana Hanif, the first Muslim woman elected to the Council, easily won the Democratic primary for her seat, according to the Associated Press. She faced a challenge from Maya Kornberg, a researcher at NYU’s Brennan Center.
While they shared similar progressive policy positions on many local matters, like free universal child care for 2-year-olds, Kornberg staked out more moderate positions on policing.
The race gained extra attention, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside spending, amid criticism that Hanif has not sufficiently condemned a surge in antisemitic incidents in her district and around the city. Hanif also joined demonstrators on Columbia campus protesting Israel’s war in Gaza.
A super PAC backing Kornberg called Brooklyn BridgeBuilders raised nearly $70,000 and purchased ads and mailers denouncing Hanif. One palm card claimed Hanif “remained silent in the face of repeated antisemitic vandalism and voted against the Council's 'End Jew Hatred' resolution.”
Another super PAC backing Hanif — Abundant New York — spent more than $80,000 on ads and mailers criticizing Kornberg. They funded an ad earlier this month claiming Kornberg “stands with her MAGA donors,” a reference to billionaire Trump donor Len Blavatnik, who contributed to her campaign.
Hanif received nearly 70% of the vote.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson is facing a strong challenge from Rafael Salamanca, chair of the City Council’s land use committee.
Johnny Nunez/WireImage
Battle for the Bronx and Manhattan
Incumbent Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson won her Democratic primary, according to the Associated Press. She faced a strong challenge from Rafael Salamanca, chair of the City Council’s land use committee.
Gibson, the first woman and first Black New Yorker to hold the position in the majority-Hispanic borough, received the endorsement of the Bronx Democratic Party and several labor unions. The well-connected Salamanca raised more than $300,000 for his bid.
In Manhattan, the borough president's office vacated by Mark Levine is up for grabs, and two heavyweights, term-limited Councilmember Keith Powers and state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, are vying to replace him. As of late Tuesday, Hoylman-Sigal was leading with about 49% of the vote and 90% of ballots counted.
Hoylman-Sigal chairs the Senate’s judiciary committee. Powers spearheaded legislation to remove scaffolding around the city and ban discrimination against renters with criminal records.
No comebacks in Bronx District 14 and Brooklyn District 48
Two former councilmembers who were trying to reclaim their old seats came up well short on Tuesday by ousting a pair of incumbent women. That’s about all the two races have in common.
In the northwest Bronx, Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, a progressive Democrat and chair of the housing committee, handily defeated Fernando Cabrera, a pastor with a history of anti-gay comments who served three terms in the Council.
And in southern Brooklyn, Councilmember Inna Vernikov, a Republican, is facing off against Ari Kagan, who lost his bid for reelection in 2023 after his district was redrawn. He served just two years in office.
Anthony Weiner's repeated sexting scandals did not stop him from running for City Council.
Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Weiner’s a loser: Manhattan District 2
Another ex-politician also came up short in his comeback bid.
Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former member of Congress, ran in the Democratic Primary for a Council seat representing parts of the East Village and Lower East Side.
Weiner served 18 months in federal prison for sending sexually explicit texts to a minor in 2017. Before that, a separate Weiner sexting scandal led him to resign his seat in Congress, where he represented parts of Queens and Brooklyn.
He was in a distant fourth place with 93% of the ballots counted. Assemblymember Harvey Epstein led the field with about 39% of the vote, while nonprofit leader Sarah Batchu and community advocate Andrea Gordillo each had about 21%.
Office politics: Queens District 30
City Councilmember Bob Holden’s office could get a little awkward.
Two of his staffers — Democrat Phil Wong and Republican Alicia Vaichunas — may face off in the November general election for Queens District 30 after they won their parties’ nominations. Holden, a term-limited incumbent Democrat who often votes with Republicans, endorsed them both.
The district includes Maspeth, Middle Village and Ridgewood.
Vaichunas ran unopposed, while Wong held a slim lead in the three-way race for the Democratic nomination. He received about 35.7% of the vote compared to small business owner Paul Pogozelski’s 32% and United Federation of Teachers strategist Dermot Smyth’s 30.8% with most of the ballots counted Tuesday.
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David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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