Harckham Pulls Out Victory In NY Senate District 40

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Democrat Peter Harckham declared victory in the 40th New York State Senate District Tuesday night. His race against two-term incumbent Terrence Murphy was seen as one of the battlegrounds for control of the Senate.

Turnout was high, 58 percent.

It was a close race, and absentee ballots are still uncounted. Plus there were 2,386 ballots that left the race blank. Another 26 were declared void and there were 39 write-ins.

And Harckham's got his work cut out for him in the district, where he won his home county of Westchester but lost in both Dutchess and Putnam counties.

As of Wednesday morning, with with 276 of 277 districts reporting, the state Board of Elections had these unofficial totals:

• Peter B. Harckham D WF WE: 57,281
• Terrence P. Murphy R C IN REF (incumbent): 55,160

There are 198,674 registered voters in the district, and 58 percent of them cast ballots. The participation rate was similar in each county.

The district is comprised of parts of Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties, including Beekman and Pawling in Dutchess; Brewster, Carmel, Patterson and Southeast in Putnam; and Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, Mount Pleasant, New Castle, North Salem, Peekskill, Pleasantville, Pound Ridge, Sleepy Hollow, Somers and Yorktown in Westchester.

Here are the results by county.

Dutchess County (61 percent of 13,674 active registered voters in the 40th cast ballots):

• Harckham: 3,045
• Murphy: 5,034

Putnam County (57 percent of 40,134 active registered voters in the 40th cast ballots)

• Harckham: 8,111
• Murphy: 14,171

Westchester County (58 percent of 144,866 active registered voters in the 40th cast ballots)

• Harckham: 46,125
• Murphy: 35,955

Harckham issued this statement Tuesday night:

Thank you to everyone! This is your win! I am honored to have earned the support of voters throughout this district with an overwhelming turnout. Thank you to all the Volunteers, Democratic committees, Indivisibles, Independents, my family, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Robert Kesten and many others whom I’ll thank in a bit. I have spoken with Senator Murphy to thank him for his service and look forward to a smooth and professional transition. In Albany I will work hard to represent everybody, not just those who voted for me. I will be accountable for the words I say, the tone I set and the tenor of the work our office does in the community. We have an ambitious legislative agenda to pass in the first 30 days of 2019, including the Reproductive Health Act, Child Victims Act and Red Flag Bill.

Our nation is dangerously divided. Division may win elections occasionally but it is not any way to build a sustainable community. Words matter, tone matters, truth matters, justice matters. We are stronger when work together and everyone has a seat at the table, I believe our diversity is our greatest strength and appreciate the support of African American, Hispanic American, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans our LGBTQ Brothers and sisters - and all Americans throughout the Hudson Valley. This election was about values. Today the Hudson Valley spoke loudly and clearly that it wants to be a more tolerant, accepting and inclusive place and more civil in its public discourse. I am honored to be part of that conversation and I am honored to have earned your support. Thank you all very much.

For more election results in the Hudson Valley, go here.

District 40 has been most recently represented by conservative Republicans. Greg Ball held the seat before Murphy, who first won the seat in 2014. This year, Democrats dealt with a competitive primary, in which Harckham bested Robert Kesten.

To an extent, the race was a referendum on President Trump. An early supporter, Murphy was on the podium when Trump was nominated as the Republican candidate; he accused Harckham of alliance with "Soros-funded antifa hate groups." Harckham said Murphy has moved steadily to the far right with proposals such as a statewide voter ID law.

Each was found to have engaged in unfair campaign practices.

• Campaign Watchdog Finds Murphy's Ads Unfair
• Kesten, Harckham Unfair To Murphy: Campaign Practices Committee

Elected to the state Senate in 2014, Murphy and his wife and children live in Yorktown.
Harckham, a former county legislator, has two daughters and lives in South Salem.

• Murphy's 1st Priority: More Jobs For The Region
• 40th NY Senate: Harckham's 1st Priority Is Health Care

PHOTO: Pete Harckham with daughters Emma & Kate Harckham after voting at Lewisboro Town Court Nov. 6, 2018/ courtesy

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