NYC City Council Primary Election In District 38 Results: Carlos Menchaca Wins Nomination

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — City Councilman Carlos Menchaca has won the Democratic primary for his seat after a tightly contested race, the AP is projecting.

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Menchaca led Assemblyman Felix Ortiz 48 percent to 33 percent. Menchaca also staved off a bid by former councilwoman Sara Gonzalez, who Menchaca unseated four years ago to win his seat.

"Thank you to so many people who made tonight possible!" Menchaca said in a Twitter post. "This is what happens when a community unites and fights for their values!"

Voters from each party chose who they'll put up for office in November's general election during Tuesday's citywide primary election. This being the liberal enclave of New York City and Brooklyn, the Democratic primary will generally decide who holds the seat come November in most places. So Tuesday was an important day in the city.

In Sunset Park and Red Hook, voters cast ballots for city- and borough-wide positions such as mayor, public advocate and Brooklyn District Attorney. But there was also a closely contested city council primary that could shape neighborhood politics for the next four years.

Menchaca, who currently represents the neighborhoods on the New York City Council, was being challenged by a field of Democratic candidates, including Gonzalez, who Menchaca defeated four years ago, and Ortiz.

Bill de Blasio easily won the Democratic nomination for mayor, while Eric Gonzalez was nominated for Brooklyn District Attorney.

(Patch will have further coverage of this election in the coming days. For more news in District 38, subscribe to the Sunset Park Patch for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts. Or for Red Hook, click here.)

Each council district has polling places scattered throughout, and where you vote depends on where you live. To find your polling place, click here and enter your address.

New York City's primaries are also organized by party affiliation — sorry independent voters. Only voters registered as Democrats or Republicans can vote in the respective primary elections. After entering your address on that same website above, under "Primary Election - 09/12/2017," click "Ballot Information" then choose your party. You will see your choices for all available offices.

Experienced voters are sure to notice that the "I Voted" stickers handed out at each polling place feature new designs. More than 10,000 people voted in a campaign organized by the New York City Campaign Finance Board to select a new sticker. More than 700 designs were submitted to the board, which narrowed the vote down to 10 finalists.