NYC Primary Election 2023: Surprise Lead In NYC Race, Queens DA Win

NEW YORK CITY — Two district attorneys appear to have fended off challengers in the New York City primary Tuesday night and Manhattan voters could deliver a surprising victory in a heated City Council battle.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz declared victory in her primary race against a public defender and a former member of the NYPD, and Bronx's lead prosecutor, Darcel Clark, claimed more than 70 percent of the vote against a soul challenger by 10 p.m.

The otherwise sleepy primary — Mayor Eric Adams's ballot held one race for a civil court judge and Staten Island had no races at all — was disrupted by a surprise lead in a contentious uptown race.

Read more: Exonerated Central Park 5 Member Declares Victory In Harlem Council Race.

For more on those races, read on:

Queens District Attorney Incumbent District Attorney Melinda Katz claimed victory Tuesday night against two Democratic challengers in the primary.

Public defense lawyer Devian Daniels and George Grasso, a former NYPD first deputy commissioner, both sought to unseat Katz, endorsed by Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Results, as per NY1:

Katz: 35,937 votes (71.6%) - NY1 gives Katz the ✔

Daniels: 7,165 votes (14.3%)

Grasso: 7,101 votes (14.1%)

*75.51% of expected vote as of 10 p.m.

Republican candidate Michael Mossa ran uncontested.

Read More: Queens DA Primary Results: Melinda Katz Claims Victory

Bronx District Attorney

Darcel Clark appears to have defended her Bronx district attorney position against a Democratic challenge from defense attorney Tess Cohen.

Results, as per NY1:

Clark: 19,109 votes (73.2%) - NY1 gives Clark the ✔

Cohen: 7,010 (26.8%)

*65.3% of expected vote as of 10 p.m.

City Council District 9 (Harlem)

The surprise decision by Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan to drop out of her Harlem race opened up a fiercely competitive race in the Democratic primary.

Assembly Member Inez Dickens faced off against Assembly Member Al Taylor and Yusef Salaam, a member of the Exonerated Central Park 5.

Dickens garnered numerous establishment endorsements, but faced scrutiny over her degree and history of evicting tenants as a landlord.

Taylor and Salaam had forged an alliance in which they agreed to cross-rank each other on their ballots — an action they urged their supporters to do.

The tactic appeared to have worked out well for Salaam, who claimed a surprise lead with more than 50 percent of the vote as of 10 p.m.

Results, as per NY1:

Salaam: 4,949 votes (51.2%)

Dickens: 1,379 votes (25.1%)

Taylor: 572 votes(14.3%)

Jordan: 904 votes (9.4%)

*68.58% of expected vote as of 10 p.m.