MALONEY , FINALLY
Wins primary after 6-wk. mail-in fight
New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney on Tuesday was declared the winner of a tightly contested Democratic primary race that was plagued by problems with mail-in ballots, her campaign announced.
The state Board of Elections’ final tally came six weeks after that primary that pitted incumbent Maloney against challenger Suraj Patel.
“I’m thrilled the voters of NY-12 have decided to return me to Congress for another term, with a decisive winning margin that clearly reflects the will of the voters,” Maloney said in a statement Tuesday.
No vote tally was made available.
On Monday, Maloney’s (inset) race for
New York’s 12th Congressional District, which covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, caught the attention of President Trump, who called for a redo over mail-in-ballot confusion.
“There’s never been a push like this before for mail-in ballots, and if you look at the New York congressional race, which is a disaster, Carolyn, it’s been a total disaster,” Trump said.
“They’re six weeks into it now. They have no clue what’s going on. I think I can say right here and now
I think you have to rerun that race because it’s a mess.”
Patel had claimed more than 12,000 mail-in votes were disqualified over issues with ballots, including a lack of postmarks. He and other primary candidates lodged their complaints in a suit filed in Manhattan federal court.
A judge in the case on Monday ordered election officials to count thousands of mail-in ballots throughout the state that had been declared invalid for not having a postmark or arriving at offices shortly after the June 23 primary.
But despite the ruling, Maloney prevailed.
She praised the judge’s decision, but said in a statement that the ruling “cannot possibly” affect the election’s outcome.
She also urged Patel to throw in the towel.
Meanwhile, results were also finalized Tuesday for a hotly contested congressional seat in the Bronx. Councilman Ritchie Torres topped 11 other Democratic challengers in the primary to replace retiring Rep. José Serrano.
“It’s official. We won!” Torres tweeted. “The counting took longer than expected, but today the @BOENYC certified our victory & I want to say thank you.”