Uptown Primary Election Results: State Assembly Called for Challenger Carmen De La Rosa, Marisol Alcantara Wins State Senate

Update 11 p.m.: Two hours after polls have closed, Carmen De La Rosa and Marisol Alcantara look to be firmly in control of the primary elections for the 72nd State Assembly District and the 31st State Senate District respectively.

The two women ran on similar platforms and garnered many of the same endorsements while running to represent State Legislative Districts that cover uptown. Both were endorsed by the outgoing State Senator of the 31st State Senate District Adriano Espaillat and uptown City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez.

Espaillat is poised to represent Northern Manhattan in the U.S. Congress come November. He defeated Keith Wright in a close race to succeed longtime Congressman Charles Rangel.

31st State Senate District Results:

Marisol Alcantara — the handpicked successor of Adriano Espaillat — will win assume Espaillat's seat in the State Senate. The race has been called by New York 1, and Alcantara has already celebrated the win with a victory speech. As of this report 222 of 235 election districts have reported votes.

• Marisol Alcantara: 8,157 votes (33.9%)
• Robert Jackson: 7,267 votes (30.2%)
• Micah Lasher: 6,698 votes (27.8%)
• Luis Tejada: 1,221 votes (5.1%)
• Blank: 582 (2.4%)

During Alcantara's victory speech she thanked the elected officials and unions that endorsed her, but most of all thanked the voters.

"Because of you, there will once again be a Latina in the New York Senate chamber," Alcantara said in front of an energetic crowd at her victory party.

72nd State Assembly District Results:

Carmen De La Rosa appears to have unseated the incumbent Guillermo Linares. At the time of this report all 85 election districts have reported votes.

• Carmen De La Rosa: 4,383 votes (46.2%)
• George Fernandez: 772 votes (8.1%)
• Guillermo Linares: 3,075 votes (32.4%)
• Blank: 1,180 (12.4%)

Original story:

The results of the third primary election this cycle in New York City will have a big influence on uptown Manhattan. Two important seats in the New York State Legislature are up for grabs, and they both are looking like competitive contests.

Multiple competitors are vying for both the 31st State Senate District and the 72nd State Assembly District.

In the race for the 31st District, four hopefuls are looking to fill the seat vacated by State Sen. Adriano Espaillat after his winning bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Congress. The district spans several uptown neighborhoods including Washington Heights, Marble Hill, Inwood and parts of Harlem and the Upper West Side.

The four candidates running for State Senate — Marisol Alcantara, Michah Lasher, Robert Jackson and Luis Tejada — have drawn on different political backgrounds, key issues and endorsements in their pleas to voters.

Alcantara has received the endorsement of Espaillat, the man she would be replacing in the seat, as well as New York City Public Advocate Letitia James. Lasher, who served as the city's Director of State Legislative Affairs under Michael Bloomberg, has been painted as elitist by Alcantara's campaign. Jackson is no stranger to running for the 31st District seat, having unsuccessfully campaigned against Espaillat in 2014. Tejada also ran in 2014, but received just 7 percent of the vote.

Jackson is the only of the four candidates to have held an elected political office, serving as a City Councilman from 2002 to 2013. In an election that historically not bring many people to the polls, name recognition may be an important factor.

"I have met him a couple of times," said Richard Marcus of Washington Heights. "He seems like a nice guy and I haven't met any of the other candidates."

Marcus recalled meeting Jackson when the retaining wall near the Caste Village apartment collapsed onto the Henry Hudson Parkway in 2005.

The 72nd District Assembly race is an example of elected experience against exuberance. Newcomer Carmen De La Rosa has mounted an energetic campaign against the incumbent Guillermo Linares — a political player for more than 20 years. A third competitor, former Community Board 12 Chair George Fernandez, has focused on neighborhood-specific issues such as tenants rights and rezoning concerns.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will stay open until 9 p.m., so voters should be able to find time to turn out either before or after work.

If you're not sure who currently represents your neighborhood, plug in your address to this helpful online tool created by the New York State Board of Elections. If you need to find out where you should go to vote, you can input your address online here.

Check back with Patch throughout the day for expanded election coverage.

Photo: Flickr user Lauren Manning via creative commons