Update, 11:56 p.m. Both Cornell alumni on the ballot in Maryland, Shavonne Hedgepeth and Prabu Selvam, have lost their races for Maryland's fourth congressional district and Montgomery County Council, respectively.
Update, 11:44 p.m. The New York Times has called Assembly District 69 for Eli Northrup '07 and Peter Oberacker in New York's 19th Congressional District
Oberacker Trounces Portelli for Chance to Unseat Riley in November
State Senator Peter Oberacker, the founder of food sourcing firm Agradigm, cruised to a Republican primary night victory against conservative challenger Alexander Portelli, who ran to Oberacker’s right.
Portelli received a higher percentage of votes in Tompkins County than the rest of the district.
Oberacker will now face incumbent Rep. Josh Riley (D-N.Y.) in November to represent New York’s 19th district, which includes Tompkins County and much of the Southern Tier.
Oberacker has touted his Utility Ratepayer Bill of Rights, a series of bills introduced in Albany, that include provisions to mandate itemized billing, ban shutoffs during the winter and introduce a tax holiday for the rest of 2026.
New York State Electric and Gas rate hikes have become a flashpoint in the battle for the 19th district. 350 miles away, in Washington, D.C., Riley introduced his own bill — the Lowering Utility Bills Act — that would bar for-profit utility companies from spending ratepayer dollars on lobbying or private jet trips. The bill also sets a national standard for the level of hikes those utilities can charge.
Riley has faced criticism in Ithaca for his support for the Laken Riley Act and for taking an American Israel Public Affairs Committee-sponsored trip to Israel amid active Israeli military attacks and a widespread famine in Gaza.
Public polling in the race has been sparse, but national Democrats are hoping a more favorable year for Democrats nationwide can buoy Riley’s chances to be re-elected. The 19th district is likely to face millions in outside spending as Democrats work to regain the House from the Republicans, who hold a slim majority.
The general election will be held on Nov. 3.
Second Time Is the Charm for Eli Northrup ’07 in Assembly District 69
In 2024, Eli Northrup ’07 challenged incumbent Assemblyman Micah Lasher and fell 18% short. Two years later, both the public defender and assemblyman were triumphant on election night.
The district, which encompasses the Upper West Side, is one of the state’s most Democratic, and the winner of the primary usually decides who is elected to the Assembly. Northrup was leading by more than 20% with almost all results posted late Tuesday night.
While at Cornell, Northrup played sprint football as a defensive back and co-founded hip-hop group Pants Velour, which remixed Cornell’s alma mater, “Far Above Cayuga’s Water” to “Da Alma Mada” — with lyrics like “we are talking about Cornell Universiteezy/ it lies upon a location remote/ but it's dope engulfed with hope, have you seen libe slope?”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Northrup in May as part of a slate of candidates running in open assembly seats.
Northrup said he could be a “bridge” between Jewish New Yorkers skeptical of the new mayor while being an ally of Mamdani’s in Albany. An unabashed progressive, Northrup has called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for universal childcare.
The campaign was marked by outside spending. Ruskay was blasted by Northrup for receiving support from Westside Progress, a PAC backed by controversial landlord Wendy Eisenberg, while Northrup was criticized when New York Future, a PAC funded by FanDuel and DraftKings, ran advertisements on his behalf. Northrup denounced New York Future’s spending, but Ruskay accepted Westside Progress’ canvassing help.
-- Atticus Johnson
Update, 9:15 p.m. Polls have closed in New York and Maryland. The AP has called races for Governor Kathy Hochul, Thomas DiNapoli and Letitia James:
Governor Kathy Hochul Will Face Republican Bruce Blakeman After Winning Democratic Nomination
Kathy Hochul, who has served as the governor of New York since former governor Andrew Cuomo resigned in August 2021, was chosen as the Democratic nominee for governor after running unopposed on Tuesday.
Hochul was elected as governor in 2022 and previously served as the lieutenant governor of New York and in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Hochul is set to face Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a member of the Republican Party and the Conservative Party. The Republican primary, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was canceled as a result of the race being uncontested, allowing Blakeman to move forward as the Republican nominee.
As governor, Hochul has enacted laws to increase minimum wage, expanded the child tax credit, protected reproductive rights and invested $2.6 billion in law enforcement and public safety.
Larry Sharpe, a Libertarian, is also running for governor.
Letitia James Wins Democratic Nomination for New York Attorney General
Incumbent Attorney General Letitia James was selected as the Democratic nominee for New York attorney general after running unopposed. Both the Democratic and Republican primaries for attorney general were canceled as a result of both candidates running uncontested.
James is a member of the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party. After assuming office as Attorney General in 2019, she was the first woman to be elected attorney general, and the first woman of color to hold statewide office in New York. In her role as attorney general, James has worked to take guns off of New York’s streets, defended New Yorker’s civil rights and spearheaded the FAIR Business Practices Act.
In the Nov. 3 general election, James will face Republican nominee Saritha Komatireddy.
Komatireddy was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York by Donald Trump in 2020, but her nomination did not proceed to the Senate. Komatireddy served as the assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 2013 to 2015 before assuming a position as a partner at Holtzman Vogel.
Anna Kelles Wins Primary and Will Run Unopposed on Nov. 3
New York Assemblywoman Anna Kelles, a Democrat, is running unopposed for a fourth term representing Assembly District 125, which encompasses all of Tompkins County and the southwest of Cortland County.
Kelles has held the position since 2021 and is a member of the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party. Kelles previously worked as a lecturer of nutritional sciences at Cornell University from 2015 until 2017.
As an assemblywoman, Kelles has positioned herself as a progressive champion, setting her focus on environmental conservation and affordability. Announcing her bid for re-election, Kelles told constituents that she is “just getting started” at a March 3 campaign launch party.
-- Giselle Richmond
Races We're Watching
Voters in Tompkins County and across the state will head to the polls today to determine who will be on the ballot in the Nov. 3 general election. Six Cornell alumni are on the ballot in Maryland and New York, and more than 20 million voters will choose candidates for Congress and local offices. Polls close at 9 p.m.
New York’s 12th Congressional District
One of the most-watched and hotly contested primary races in the country will unfold in a slice of Manhattan. The open U.S. House of Representatives seat, rated solidly Democratic, is considered a toss up between Jack Schlossberg, Micah Lasher and Alex Bores ’13.
Schlossberg, a grandson of President John F. Kennedy; Lasher, a state assemblyman who represents the Upper West Side; and Bores, a state assemblyman who represents much of east Manhattan are joined in the primary by Nina Schwalbe, a public health researcher, and George Conway, the ex-husband of Kellyanne Conway and an attorney.
Bores, a Cornell alumnus, is centering his campaign on AI regulation. OpenAI Co-founder Greg Brockman and Palantir Co-founder Joe Lonsdale have spent more than $6.2 million to defeat Bores, while Anthropic’s political arm has responded in kind.
New York’s 19th Congressional District
While incumbent Rep. Josh Riley, a Democrat, is running unopposed in today’s primary, Republicans across the Southern Tier will select who will face Riley in November. The 19th district includes Tompkins County and much of the Southern Tier.
There are two candidates on Tuesday’s GOP ballot: Peter Oberacker, a state senator who represents much of central New York and the Hudson Valley, and Alex Portelli, a timber farmer and small business owner who has framed his campaign as a more conservative alternative.
Oberacker has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and is expected to cruise to a primary night victory.
New York State Comptroller
Incumbent State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, a Democrat, is facing a fierce primary challenge from Drew Warshaw ’03, a housing nonprofit executive, and Raj Goyle, a co-chair of the 5BORO Institute.
New York’s Comptroller is one of the most powerful in the country, and controls both state pension fund investments and audits into state government agencies. Warshaw and Goyle have criticized DiNapoli for a lack of audits and transparency in state government.
Both Warshaw and Goyle — who served as a Kansas state representative before moving to New York in 2011 — have pitched themselves as progressive reformers who will use the state pension fund to both divest from Israeli companies and Palantir in addition to auditing the state government more fully.
DiNapoli has countered criticism by touting the growth of the state pension fund under his watch — the fund has grown from $140 billion to $295 billion since 2007, when he was first elected to the post.
Though a Siena poll published in March found only a third of New Yorkers knew who DiNapoli was, the incumbent’s divided opposition may allow him to eke out a narrow victory in the first primary challenge of his political career.
New York Assembly District 69
The Upper West Side assembly district being vacated by New York State Assemblyman Micah Lasher has become a heated proxy battle between New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and much of the Upper West Side political establishment.
Eli Northrup ’07, a public defender who unsuccessfully challenged Lasher in 2024, has been endorsed by Mamdani and the Working Families Party, while his opponent, Stephanie Ruskay, a rabbi, has been endorsed by Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, City Comptroller Mark Levine and some unions. Pro-Israel groups have also backed Ruskay.
The race will test both the ascendant democratic socialist mayor’s political prowess and how the 69th district, where nearly a third of households identify as Jewish, is navigating evolving views on Israel and rising antisemitism.
Local Races
The Sun will also be covering local races in Tompkins County — incumbent lawmakers State Senator Lea Webb and Assemblywoman Anna Kelles are running in their respective primaries unopposed and will not appear on ballots — and two Cornell alumni in Maryland, Shavonne Hedgepeth MPA ’25, running for Maryland’s fourth district, and Prabu Selvam ’07, running for Montgomery County Council. Steven Raga MBA ’22 M.S. ’22, running for New York State Senate District 12, is also fighting for his political life against a Democratic Socialists of America opponent as he attempts to make the jump from State Assembly to State Senate.
Mary Caitlin Cronin is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a news editor for the 144th editorial board and can be reached at mcronin@cornellsun.com.
Zeinab Faraj is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences and a senior editor on the 144th Editorial Board. She was a features editor and assistant sports editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and can be reached at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
Giselle Redmond is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the News department and can be reached at gredmond@cornellsun.com.
Atticus Johnson is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is the off-campus news editor for the 144th board and can be reached at ajohnson@cornellsun.com.
