Democrat Sam Berger Wins Queens Special Election: NY1

QUEENS, NY — Democrat Sam Berger handily won a Queens seat for state Assembly in a special election widely seen as a political bellwether amid the migrant crisis, NY1 projected.

Berger had 55.14 percent of votes over Republican candidate David Hirsch’s 44.59 percent, according to unofficial vote tallies Tuesday at 9:30 p.m.

The race between Berger and Hirsch wasn’t seen as just a battle for District 27, which runs from Kew Gardens Hills, past Flushing and up to College Point and Whitestone.

The result could be a bellwether for how the asylum seeker crisis impacts Democrats, as Politico reported.

Berger kept the seat — which was given up by Daniel Rosenthal in June when he resigned to take a nonprofit job — in Democratic control at a time when many wondered if political headwinds could be shifting away from the party because of the asylum seeker crisis.

Hirsch hoped to capitalize on the district's 2022 support for Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin and wariness over migrants, Politico reported.

But in the end, Hirsch fell far short, according to unofficial vote tallies.

He garnered 1,979 votes to Berger's 2,447, the city's Board of Elections unofficial results showed.