Astoria, LIC Election Results: AOC & Velázquez Win, Stavisky Leads

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A Democratic State Senator was holding off a Republican challenger and two incumbent members of Congress sailed to re-election, according to preliminary results from Tuesday's general elections in Astoria and Long Island City.

State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky held a 7,000-vote lead over challenger Stefano Forte in her Northeast Queens district that was redrawn this year to cover the north end of Astoria, according to results shortly before midnight.

And U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both appeared set to easily fend off their conservative opponents, promising the progressive lawmakers another two years in Congress.

Those races were on the ballot in Astoria and Long Island City alongside big statewide races like governor, attorney general and U.S. Senate (find those results here).

Here are the preliminary vote totals for each Western Queens race as of Tuesday night, based on Board of Elections Data — with more background on each race below):

14th Congressional District results

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D): 70.39% (78,176 votes)
• Tina Forte (R): 27.51% (30,551 votes)
• Desi Cuellar (Conservative): 1.91% (2,121 votes)

(97% of scanners reporting, as of 11:42 p.m.)

7th Congressional District results

• Nydia M. Velázquez (D): 80.36% (111,930 votes)
• Juan Pagan (R): 19.48% (27,138 votes)

(98% of scanners reporting, as of 11:42 p.m.)

State Senate District 11 results

• Toby Ann Stavisky (D): 55.96% (34,784 votes)
• Stefano Forte (R): 43.98% (27,336 votes)

(95% of scanners reporting, as of 11:04 p.m.)

Stavisky reportedly declared victory over Forte after 10 p.m., though the race had not been officially called shortly before midnight.

Uncontested races

Kristen Gonzalez faced no opponents in the new 59th State Senate District, covering much of Astoria and Long Island City. After defeating Elizabeth Crowley in the August primary, socialist Gonzalez will take office in January.

Incumbent State Senator Michael Gianaris also faced no challengers in his bid for a seventh term in the 12th District, which shifted to the east during redistricting to cover more of Central Queens.

In the Assembly, all three races in Astoria and Long Island City were uncontested. Juan Ardila, who won the June primary to succeed retiring member Cathy Nolan, faces no challengers in Assembly District 37, covering parts of Long Island City and Central Queens.

And incumbent Assembly Members Zohran Mamdani and Jessica González-Rojas will be re-elected to their Astoria-based districts 36 and 34, respectively.

Despite surprisingly competitive races at the statewide level, Democratic candidates have been heavily favored for all the elections in Northwest Queens, given the area's liberal leanings.

That included the area's most prominent incumbent: Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist whose 14th Congressional District covers the northern part of Astoria above 35th Avenue as well as parts of Jackson Heights, Corona, College Point and the East Bronx.

Ocasio-Cortez's campaign website mentions top policy goals including Medicare for All, tenant protections and the construction of more affordable housing, and ending police violence.

Her Republican challenger, Forte, is a conservative influencer and owner of a beverage distribution company who said she was running to stop "radical socialists from destroying the American dream." A resident of Rockland County, she was on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots, but told NY1 she "didn't participate n anything that went on that day."

Conservative Party nominee Cuellar is a Bayside native who lost to Forte in the August GOP primary. He said his top issues included "securing our families" and supporting law enforcement.

Velázquez, the other congressional incumbent, is new to Queens: after representing North Brooklyn since 1993, redistricting saw her district lines shift significantly, now covering Long Island City and parts of Astoria, Sunnyside, and other neighborhoods in West and Central Queens.

The progressive congresswoman has named climate change, reducing income inequality and providing universal healthcare as among her top policy goals.

Pagan, her Republican opponent, said his main concerns include inflation, unsafe streets and failing infrastructure.

In the State Senate, longtime incumbent Stavisky had her eastern Queens District shifted west to include the northernmost blocks of Ditmars-Steinway, above Ditmars Boulevard.

Stavisky, an 83-year-old Democrat who owns homes in Forest Hills and Beechhurst, has served since 1999. Stavisky chairs the Senate's education committee and has focused on elder issues, helping immigrants and aiding small businesses, according to her Senate website.

Her challenger Forte, a native of Astoria and Flushing, said he wanted to make the city "hospitable to families, small businesses, and all manner of hard-working Americans." Online, Forte has spoken in aggressive terms against efforts at LGBT inclusivity, once using the term "groomers" to deride an Old Navy t-shirt that mentions gender-neutral pronouns.