NY 12th Congressional District Election Results: Maloney Wins

NEW YORK, NY — Incumbent Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney defended her seat in Tuesday's Democratic primary election for New York's 12th Congressional District, despite facing one of the strongest challenges she has had in years from former Barack Obama campaign staffer Suraj Patel.

With all but six election districts reporting votes as of Wednesday morning, Maloney has 24,223 votes (58 percent) compared to Patel's 16,995 votes (41 percent), according to the New York State Board of Elections. There were 22 blank ballots, 47 void ballots and 173 write-in ballots counted, according to state voter data.

The 34-year-old Patel, who is also the president of the Indiana-based Sun Group of Companies, which oversees a network of hotels in 14 states, framed his challenge of Maloney as taking on New York's entrenched Democratic establishment and ran on a left-wing platform that included policies such as abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Maloney ran on her experience and received endorsements from most established Democrat officials in the district — which spans much of the east side of Manhattan as well as parts of Queens and Brooklyn.

The 13-term incumbent defeated her challenger handily in Manhattan and narrowly in Queens. Patel won about 66 percent of the 12th District's Brooklyn neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, according to voter analysis.

New York's 12th Congressional district spans much of the east side of Manhattan as well as parts of Queens and Brooklyn. Patel ran his campaign from a former East Village bar and Maloney has district offices on the Upper East Side, in Astoria and in Williamsburg.

Patel earned attention during the election by employing some interesting strategies, such as using dating apps to reach voters, and by raising a formidable sum of campaign cash. He could also be in trouble for misusing campaign funds.

The 12th District election was the only Democratic primary for a congressional representative whose district includes Manhattan. Congressmen Adriano Espaillat of the 13th District and Jerrold Nadler of the 10th District are running unopposed.