Grace Meng Declared Winner Of Congressional Primary

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — U.S. Rep. Grace Meng was declared the winner of Tuesday's Democratic congressional primary, the first time she faced challengers within her own party since taking office in 2012.

Of the nearly 25,000 votes counted so far in the race, Meng holds about 61 percent of the vote, according to preliminary numbers reported by the NYC Board of Elections.

Challengers Melquiades Gagarin and Sandra Choi received 21 percent and 17 percent of the vote, respectively.

The Associated Press deemed Meng victorious in the primary even as tens of thousands of absentee ballots mailed in by Queens voters have yet to be counted.

At least 14,000 of those absentee ballots were cast in Meng's district as of Tuesday, according to the NYC Board of Elections, though that number will likely increase as election officials update their tallies to include ballots received just before the Tuesday deadline.

"While we must wait until all votes have been counted, I'm confident that our grassroots support will lead us to victory," Meng said in a statement Wednesday.

So grateful for the overwhelming show of support for our campaign. While we must wait until all votes have been counted, I'm confident that our grassroots support will lead us to victory. I dedicated my career to fighting for Queens families & I’m ready to continue that fight.
— Grace Meng (@Grace4NY) June 24, 2020

Meng will face Republican opponent Thomas Zmich in the general election in November.