Queens Senate Race: Nomiki Konst Drops Out, Endorses Kristen Gonzalez

ASTORIA, QUEENS — The competitive race for an open State Senate seat in Northwest Queens was shaken up on the first day of early voting Saturday, when a progressive candidate dropped out and endorsed her onetime rival.

Nomiki Konst made the bombshell announcement on Saturday, saying she would back Kristen Gonzalez in the race for the 59th State Senate District — a brand-new seat that covers much of Long Island City, Astoria west of Steinway Street and south of Ditmars Boulevard, as well as Greenpoint, Brooklyn and a chunk of Midtown East in Manhattan.

"This three month long campaign has become one of the most expensive primaries in New York Senate history — and in light of the overwhelming amount of money being spent in this campaign, particularly by real estate interests, I have made the decision to suspend our campaign at this time and endorse Kristen Gonzalez for State Senate in District 59," Konst, an activist and podcaster, said in a statement.

Besides its timing, the move was unexpected given the animosity that had existed between the two progressive candidates, both of whom are self-identified socialists.

Konst's entry into the race was controversial, with allies of Gonzalez saying she would risk splitting the left-wing vote after Gonzalez had already locked up progressive support in the district. Konst later accused Gonzalez's supporters of threatening her while campaigning — Gonzalez denied that, and said that Konst had unfairly implied that she was not "from" the district.

The truce between them was brokered by State Sen. Michael Gianaris, a fellow progressive who is supporting Gonzalez, according to a spokesperson for Konst's campaign.

Konst's mention of "real estate interests" was a likely allusion to the influx of money that has entered the race in support of Elizabeth Crowley, a centrist Democrat and former City Council member who is the other leading candidate.

A campaign committee supporting Crowley has received $150,000 from real estate-aligned groups — despite her own pledge not to take any money from "big real estate developers," as THE CITY reported last week.

Gonzalez's campaign, meanwhile, has boasted of raising more than $200,000 from more than 2,300 individual donors.

A product manager for American Express, Gonzalez has also won support from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, and the Working Families Party.

"This election is too important to allow wealthy interests to influence its outcome," Gianaris said in a statement.

Early voting runs through Aug. 21, with Election Day on Aug. 23. Besides the State Senate race, some Astorians will vote in a primary for U.S. Congress.

Find your poll site and view a sample ballot here.

Related coverage: Astoria-LIC Election Guide: Fraught Senate Race, Congressional Primary