Yonkers insurgents Show Strength – Key Race Still Undecided
It’s the morning after New York’s 2026 primary elections. The results are unofficial, but one of the three insurgent Democratic candidates, who ran against the Yonkers Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate, won her race, and a second insurgent is leading by the smallest of margins. The Yonkers Democratic political machine is showing signs of vulnerability.
The Westchester Board of Elections website states that all 906 election districts have “partially reported” their result, but it appears that “vote by mail/absentee ballots” are yet to be counted.
Here is what we know so far
Jeanette Garcia v. Frank Jereis for New York State Assembly (90 District)
Frank Jereis is the winner. He received 2,736 votes or 57% to Garcia’s 2,055 or 43%.
Kisha Skipper v. Anthony Nicodemo for Westchester County Legislator (15th District).
Kisha Skipper is the winner. She received 1,290 votes or 53% to Nicodemo’s 1,150 or 47%
Leslye Oquendo–Thomas v. Wilson Terrero for County of Westchester Legislator (17th District)
This race is too close to call. Oquendo-Thomas received 931 votes or 50.30% to Terrero’s 919 or 49.65%. Oquendo-Thomas leads by 12 votes. In the earlier vote counts, Oquendo-Thomas pulled ahead, but her lead narrowed in the early morning hours. Mail in/absentee votes could change the results.
Here is a preliminary assessment of what we learned from this election
1. The Yonkers Democratic Party Committee — the party leadership that makes endorsements candidates — is not invincible. Although Frank Jereis won his race convincingly, in a NY Assembly district containing approximately 75% of Yonkers electorate, the party’s endorsement and the organization and fundraising advantages that come with it were not enough to carry Nicodemo to victory in his campaign for the Westchester County Legislature.
In the Oquendo-Thomas/Terrero race, which is currently too close to call, the party’s organization and get-out-the-vote effort may still carry Terrero to a slim victory. This race now becomes a test as to whether the Democratic Party carried its preferred candidate to victory by focusing on absentee ballots.
2. The Mamdani Magic may be spreading to Yonkers. All of the progressive candidates that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed swept to victory in neighboring New York City. Given the strong showing of the progressive Yonkers insurgent candidates, it is quite possible that the progressive wave is spreading to Yonkers.
3. The Yonkers electorate may be ready for change. The mixed election results come as a surprise and clouds next year’s mayoral elections. Most political pundits in the city expected the Democratic endorsed candidates to win easily in an election with an exceedingly low turnout. That’s the great advantage of having the party’s endorsement. The party is supposed to get the regular Democrats to the polls to vote for their preferred candidates. Now, however, it’s not clear what hold the Yonkers Democratic Party has over the voters.
It’s no sure bet that the voters will support Mayor Spano if he seeks to once again suspend the city’s term limits law and run for an unprecedented fifth term. It’s conceivable these primary results will dissuade him from running again, or that a Mamdani-like candidate will emerge to challenge him in a primary.
4. More analysis of the election results is needed. In order to get a better sense of the significance of this primary, we will have to wait and see what the final results are. Moreover, we will need to crunch the numbers to evaluate whether there is the beginning of a political shift in the voters who may be ready for change.
