Brian Cunningham Declares Victory In Crown Heights Assembly Race

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Democrat-backed candidate Brian Cunningham has declared victory in Brooklyn's 43rd District, filling the seat left vacant by Assembly Member Diana Richardson.

Cunningham, a local organizer, declared victory an hour after polls closed on Tuesday. Unofficial results form the New York City Board of Elections shows that he received more than 62 percent of votes in the district, which includes parts of Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Garden, East Flatbush and Wingate.

His opponent, Jelanie Deshong, earned nearly 35 percent of the vote, according to the results, which had counted 98 percent of Election Day votes as of Wednesday morning.

"I’m honored that the people of District 43 have selected me to serve them in Albany," Cunningham wrote on Twitter around 10 p.m. "I’m ready to wake up tomorrow and get to work on all of the progressive issues we need to move forward. We have a lot to do to improve our communities and I don’t want to waste a single second."

Tuesday's special election was set up after Richardson left her 43rd District seat to become the deputy borough president under newly-elected Borough President Antonio Reynoso.

Cunningham ran under the Democratic Party after winning their nomination late last month. DeShong, who also was in contention for the Brooklyn Democratic Party's nomination, ran under the Working Families Party.

A third candidate on the Conservative and Republican Party lines, Mesidor Azor, received just under 3 percent of the vote Tuesday, results show.

Now a leader in the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, Cunningham has served as a senior aide for state Sen. Kevin Parker, chief of staff under former Council Member Laurie Cumbo and ran for office in the 40th City Council District in 2017, according to his website and reports.

The 43rd District is one of several special elections this year, including another assembly election in East New York's 60th District earlier this month. The East New York race also saw a battle between a Democratic nominee and a Working Families Party candidate amid tensions surrounding the Brooklyn Democratic Party's nomination process.