Central Queens Senate Race Remains Undecided

Updated 10:41 a.m.:

MIDDLE VILLAGE, QUEENS — State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.'s race for re-election had still not been called Wednesday morning, even as he held a lead of more than 7 percentage points over his Republican challenger.

Early results Wednesday morning showed Addabbo with just under 54 percent of the vote in the race against his opponent, Thomas P. Sullivan, according to the NYC Board of Elections.

Although his election remained officially undecided, Addabbo posted a thank-you message to his supporters Wednesday morning on Facebook that appeared to presume victory.

"I want to thank my supporters for giving me the privilege and honor of serving all the residents throughout my district," Addabbo wrote. "My team and I look forward to working with you as we navigate through the COVID pandemic and address any issue that confronts us."

But Addabbo's lead of roughly 7,000 votes is small enough that absentee ballots could change those results: Voters cast at least 23,000 absentee ballots cast in Addabbo's district, preliminary data shows.

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

Addabbo was first elected in 2008 to represent the 15th Senate District, which includes parts of Broad Channel, Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Glendale, Hamilton Beach, Howard Beach, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ozone Park, Rego Park, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, South Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Woodside and most of the Rockaways.

In a Patch candidate questionnaire, Addabbo characterized his decision to seek re-election as an effort "to continue my efforts in assisting others as together we navigate through the COVID pandemic, work towards improving conditions in our community and address any quality of life issue that concerns my constituents," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Sullivan made a second attempt at unseating him, arguing that there has been a steady decline in quality-of-life issues in Addabbo's district.