Manny De Los Santos Wins Wash Heights Assembly Primary: NY1 Projects

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Assemblymember Manny De Los Santos will win the Democratic primary for Upper Manhattan's 72nd Assembly District, NY1 projects.

De Los Santos held a sizeable lead for the entirety of Tuesday night over challengers Nayma Silver-Matos and Silvia Smith.

De Los Santos, who has only been in office since February, was declared the winner Wednesday morning with 67 percent of the vote, according to NY1.

Here's where the numbers stood at the time of victory, according to NY1.

• De Los Santos: 67 percent (4,439 votes)
• Silver-Matos: 25 percent (1,610 votes)
• Smith: 7 percent (495 votes)

Read More: Kathy Hochul Wins New York Democratic Primary, NY1, AP Project

De Los Santos was elected in a special election in February, in which he won with 61 percent of the vote to replace Carmen De La Rosa — who had recently been elected to the City Council.

He previously served as a district leader for the 72nd Assembly District and worked on Community Board 12.

"I am extremely grateful and humbled for the opportunity and confidence to serve the communities of Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill," De Los Santos said after he was elected to the position in February. "I will do everything within my power to promote the voices of my community and empower them to build a better New York for future generations."

Also on the ballot is Silver-Matos, who came in second place in the February election and also has served as a district leader for the 72nd Assembly District and on Community Board 12.

"As your Assemblywoman, I will fight and advocate at every turn—like I did as a member of Save Inwood Library and Inwood Legal Action when we fought against the Inwood Rezoning and the crisis in affordability it would bring —to make sure that we preserve the already existent affordable housing in our district," Silver-Matos says on her campaign website among her policy priorities.

Rounding out the ballot for the uptown Democratic primary is Smith.

She is the president of the Washington Heights Multi-Cultural Center, the president of Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano, which promotes Dominican culture and heritage, and is the president of the Manhattan Latin Chamber of Commerce.

"The people of New York have been dealing with expensive and inadequate health insurance," Smith's campaign website reads. "Silvia wants free high-quality health insurance for all New Yorkers. She also wants to provide a free 4-year college education to the students of New York."

This story will be updated throughout the night as results come in.

Read More:

• Washington Heights Election Guide: What To Know About The Races
• Upper Manhattan Candidate Has Campaign Signs Destroyed