DSA-Aligned Candidates Won NYC Seats Without a General Election Opponent
New York City has some of the most heavily Democratic legislative districts in the country. In several districts represented by politicians associated with the Democratic Socialists of America, the 2024 general election featured something notable: there wasn't another named candidate on the ballot.
That distinction matters.
These weren't simply races where a challenger lost by a large margin. In several cases, voters reached the November election with only one named candidate to choose from, aside from the possibility of writing someone in.
Official New York State Board of Elections records show multiple examples.
Total Votes versus Registered Voters
Not a single DSA-backed candidate received over 50% of the registered voters in their district.
Julia Salazar — State Senate District 18
State Senator Julia Salazar represented Senate District 18, covering portions of Brooklyn and Queens. In the November 2024 general election, the state's certified ballot listed Salazar on the Democratic and Working Families lines. The Republican and Conservative lines were blank—there was no named general-election opponent.
Salazar received approximately 67,889 votes across her ballot lines. Whatever a voter's opinion of Salazar's politics, the electoral situation is straightforward: voters opposed to her candidacy did not have another named candidate on the ballot.
Jabari Brisport — State Senate District 25
The same thing happened in Brooklyn's State Senate District 25. Democratic Socialist State Senator Jabari Brisport appeared as the Democratic candidate, while the Republican and Conservative parties fielded no candidate against him, according to the state's certification.
Brisport received approximately 90,484 votes in the general election. Brisport did face competition earlier in the electoral process—including Democratic primary competition—but that's different from what happened in November. Once voters reached the general election, there was no named challenger.
Kristen Gonzalez — State Senate District 59
State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, whose district includes portions of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, similarly entered the 2024 general election without a named opponent. She received approximately 100,073 votes.
That means three DSA-associated State Senate candidates—Salazar, Brisport and Gonzalez—collectively received roughly 258,000 votes in general elections without a named opponent on the ballot.
Zohran Mamdani — Assembly District 36
The same phenomenon extended into the New York State Assembly. In 2024, Zohran Mamdani ran for reelection representing Assembly District 36 in Queens. The official Board of Elections contest record lists Mamdani as the Democratic/Working Families candidate and shows no other named candidate in the contest. Voters could leave the race blank or cast a write-in vote, but there was no Republican, Conservative or other named general-election candidate opposing him.
Jessica González-Rojas — Assembly District 34
Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas also ran without a named general-election opponent in Queens' Assembly District 34. The official state election record lists González-Rojas on the Democratic and Working Families lines without another named candidate.
Again, the issue isn't the margin of victory. There was no conventional two-candidate general-election contest.
Claire Valdez — Assembly District 37
In neighboring Western Queens, Claire Valdez won Assembly District 37 with approximately 34,293 votes and no named general-election challenger.
Valdez had already won the Democratic nomination earlier in the election cycle. By November, however, voters did not have another named candidate competing against her.
Emily Gallagher — Assembly District 50
In North Brooklyn, Assemblymember Emily Gallagher also ran without a named opponent. The official State Board of Elections record for Assembly District 50 lists Gallagher on the Democratic and Working Families lines and no other named candidate. Gallagher received approximately 36,598 votes.
Phara Souffrant Forrest — Assembly District 57
Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest faced the same electoral situation in Central Brooklyn. The official results list Souffrant Forrest as the only named candidate in the 2024 Assembly District 57 general election. She received approximately 47,424 votes.
The Bigger Question Is Candidate Recruitment
The numbers point to a structural feature of New York politics that extends beyond any single political organization. In heavily Democratic districts, the decisive electoral contest can occur during the Democratic primary. Opposition parties and independent political organizations may subsequently fail to recruit a candidate for the general election.
For organizations interested in competing with DSA-associated politicians, that raises an important strategic question:
Why wait until election year to start looking for challengers?
Recruiting a serious candidate requires more than finding someone willing to put their name on a ballot. Potential candidates need time to develop public profiles, understand their districts, build fundraising relationships, recruit volunteers, establish policy positions, learn campaign compliance, develop communications skills and create the organizations required to run credible campaigns.
That process can begin years before Election Day. The 2024 results demonstrate what happens when it doesn't.
In several New York City legislative districts represented by DSA-associated politicians, voters reached the general election and found only one named candidate. The next election cycle provides an opportunity for political organizations across the ideological spectrum to decide whether those races will once again go uncontested or whether voters will have competing candidates to choose from.
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