No Clear Winner In Tight Northeast Queens Assembly Race

Updated 3:13 p.m.:

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — New York Assembly Member Edward Braunstein was fighting to hold onto his seat representing Northeast Queens as his Republican challenger led him by about 5 percentage points as of Wednesday morning.

John-Alexander Sakelos, a professional stage actor and small business owner from Bayside, had more than 52 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns from the NYC Board of Elections.

His 2,000-vote lead over Braunstein was small enough that absentee ballots could change those results: At least 14,500 voters in the 26th Assembly District cast absentee ballots, according to early tallies from the Board of Elections.

The Board of Elections is set to start counting those votes on Monday.

Despite that, Sakelos declared victory early Wednesday, saying he was "cautiously optimistic" that voters had chosen him and calling the results a "resounding win" for the district.

NY1 had not officially called the race by Wednesday afternoon.

The 26th Assembly District — which Braunstein has represented since 2010 — covers parts of Auburndale, Bay Terrace, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Broadway-Flushing, Douglaston, Floral Park, Glen Oaks, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens and Whitestone in the state legislature.