Democrats had a good night on the national level Tuesday, and in Queens the hits just kept on coming.
Assemblywoman Grace Meng, D-Flushing, defeated Republican Dan Halloran for Queens' newest congressional seat, NY-6. Meng didn't waste any time rolling up her sleeves during her victory speech.
"We have a lot of work to do going ahead," she said. "It's great to make history by increasing the number of women in Congress. I look forward to talking with the leadership."
According to NY1, Meng walloped Halloran by more than 30,000 votes.
In the Democrats effort to flip the state Senate, no race was more hotly contested than Senate District 15, which includes parts of southern Forest Hills.
Incumbent Sen. Joe Addabbo, a Democrat, claimed victory on Tuesday night over City Councilman Eric Ulrich, R-South Ozone Park, which he admitted was a bittersweet moment considering all the damage that Hurricane Sandy had done in his district.
"Tomorrow we get back to addressing the [hurricane victim's] needs," Addabbo said, after declaring victory. "We're happy now, but we'll be more happy when the Board of Elections certifies everything."
NY1 gave Addabbo a healthy lead Wednesday morning of more than 6,000 votes.
Despite Addabbo's statement, however, Ulrich was unwilling to concede, citing voters who had cast paper ballots in parts of southern Queens.
"We are not conceding this race at this time," Ulrich said to a small gathering of crestfallen supporters in Middle Village. "There are literally thousands and thousands of paper ballots still out there. The lowest number that I've heard is 6,000."
In a northeast Queens race further down-ticket, Nily Rozic defeated Abraham Fuchs, 66 percent to 25 percent.
"I want to see better transportation in Queens and make sure people get good health care," Rozic said, outlining some of her goals in the Assembly. "We want to make it happen for the people of northeast Queens."
In Senate District 11, Tony Avella earned a second term in office by easily besting Republican Joe Concannon. NY1 showed the commanding victory in their results.
State Sen. Toby Stavisky handily defeated Republican challenger J.D. Kim in Flushing and northern Forest Hills. Her margin of victory stood at nearly 20,000 votes, according to NY1.
Additional reporting by Nathan Duke.
