Victory Declared In 39th State Senate District Race

James Skoufis has declared victory over Tom Basile in the 39th State Senate District race Tuesday, according to News 12. They were vying to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Bill Larkin.

The unofficial vote count, with 230 of 249 election districts reporting, was 48,170 for Democrat Skoufis and 38,747 for Republican Basile.

Assemblyman James Skoufis of Woodbury faced off against Stony Point Councilman Tom Basile, a consultant for Reclaim New York, the nonprofit funded by the Mercer family, which also backs the conservative Breitbart news site. Basile was endorsed by United Citizens of Kiryas Joel, netting him the "bloc voteâ" from the large Hasidic community. A cornerstone of Basile's campaign was reducing government spending. Skoufis said he wanted to see the district get its fair share of infrastructure and education aid.

The district is comprised of parts of Orange, Rockland and Ulster counties.

Get Mid-Hudson Valley Patch’s daily newsletters and news alerts right in your inbox. Find and “Like” Hudson Valley Patches' Facebook Pages.

Image via Shutterstock.