It was an election night in the age of coronavirus, which meant results in some of the most hotly contested races in New York and Kentucky were not immediately revealed, as the two states allowed their voters the opportunity to cast their ballots by mail.
Election officials in the Bluegrass State sharply limited the number of in-person polling places, and the Empire State, in keeping with its election security measures, may not begin counting absentee ballots for a week.
That means voters in New York and Kentucky who are eager for results may have to wait a little longer for the outcomes of these key races. Here’s a look at where we stand after Tuesday night.
Kentucky Senate Democratic primary
Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath and state Rep. Charles Booker are jockeying to be the Democratic candidate who takes on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November.
A more moderate candidate, McGrath has raised $40 million and has the endorsement of the national party establishment. Meanwhile, Booker, the youngest Black Kentucky lawmaker, has emerged as a national voice during protests over police brutality and racial injustice, attracting support from progressives across the country.
But whoever wins the party’s nomination faces an uphill battle in dethroning McConnell.
NY-12
Incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, is locked in a tight race to retain her Manhattan district seat.
She faces a rematch from her chief rival in the primary, Suraj Patel, a 36-year-old hotel executive and former Obama campaign staffer who supports the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
In his first matchup with Maloney in 2018, Patel received about 40% of the vote.
NY-15
New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres, the first out, gay person to hold elected office in the Bronx, is running for Congress against 11 Democrats, including City Councilman Rubén Díaz Sr, who has run a surprisingly strong campaign in the country’s bluest district despite his socially conservative views and history of homophobic remarks.
Díaz, a cowboy hat-wearing Pentecostal minister, is anti-abortion, opposes same-sex marriage, and is considering a vote for President Donald Trump in November. But he has long served in the district and is well known there along with his son, Bronx borough president Rubén Díaz Jr.
Díaz opponents’ worry that Torres, the fundraising leader, New York State Assembly Member Michael Blake, and the other Democrats will split the progressive vote. The political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is backing Torres, who is both Black and Puerto Rican, while the Congressional Black Caucus is behind Blake, a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee who also has the support of two local branches of the powerful Service Employees International Union.
The seat is potentially a once in a generation opportunity for a Democrat aspiring to Congress. It became open after 30-year veteran Rep. Jose Serrano decided to retire.
NY-16
Longtime Rep. Eliot Engel, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, faces a strong challenge from progressive newcomer Jamaal Bowman to hold onto his seat, which includes parts of the Bronx and Westchester County.
A former Bronx middle school teacher, Bowman was recruited to run by Justice Democrats, the same group that launched Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s successful 2018 campaign, while the party establishment has thrown its backing behind Engel.
Engel and Bowman are both supporters of “Medicare for All” and other big domestic progressive priorities, but Engel is among the most hawkish Democratic House members.
NY-17
Progressive Mondaire Jones has emerged as the front-runner out of the six candidates vying to replace retiring Rep. Nita Lowey in this southern New York district.
If he holds his lead, Jones, who served in the Obama administration, could become the first out gay, Black member of Congress.
Jones told CNN this month that the defeats of progressive candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in the presidential primary underscored the need to invest in down-ballot races.
“It is so important that the movement continues, that we continue to build a bench of progressives who can then run for other things in the future,” Jones said. “If you’re dissatisfied with Joe Biden as your nominee, you can at least be working to elect progressives to Congress.”
CNN’s Gregory Krieg, Alex Rogers, Eric Bradner, Dan Merica and Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.
