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GOP makes noteworthy strides at Brooklyn Republican Party’s election night watch event

BAY RIDGE — There was revelry in the air at the Brooklyn Republican Party’s election night watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 5, as the GOP celebrated some significant wins. 

The event, which took place at the Bay Ridge Manor and hosted approximately 200 people, saw Republican Steven Chan, a former U.S. Marine and retired New York Police Department (NYPD) sergeant, win against first-term Democratic incumbent Iwen Chu in southern Brooklyn’s notoriously blue 17th District by a margin of 10 percentage points.  

“The easy stuff is over; now is when the hard work begins,” Chan told the Brooklyn Eagle. “It’s been a tough campaign, but I feel great — refreshed and revitalized. It’s time to go to Albany and fight for the community. We have to stop the nonsense and try to rebuild what we once had.”  

In addition, Democrat Chris McCreight conceded the race for the 46th Assembly District to incumbent Republican Alec Brook-Krasny, who was re-elected. At press time, Brook-Krasny had more than 52% of the vote.   

Republican Michael Novakhov, as of press time, led Democrat Joey Cohen-Saban in the race for the 45th Assembly District by a razor thin margin — approximately 270 votes and more than 98% of votes counted. The victor will be decided based on remaining absentee ballots, provisional ballots and any other outstanding votes, which the board of elections will count in the coming days.   

On the other side of the bridge, Republican incumbent Nicole Malliotakis was acknowledged for being re-elected against Democrat Andrea Morse in the 11th New York Congressional District. Malliotakis, whose constituency covers Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, snared nearly 65% of the vote.  

Brooklyn Republicans and Conservatives congregated at the watch party Tuesday, including Richie Barsamian, chair of Kings County Republican Party (KCRP); Fran Vella-Marrone, KCCP chair; Curtis Sliwa, Guardian Angels founder and former NYC mayoral candidate; Assembleymember Jaime Williams (R-59); Assemblymember Lester Chang (R-49); former State Sen. Marty Golden; Ted Ghorra, former KCRP chair; and many others. 

Barsamian expressed his thoughts to the Eagle on those that made it over the political mountain on Tuesday. 

“I am so proud of Steve Chan and grateful that the people of the community voted for him and gave him their trust,” Barsamian said. “I’m also honored to have Nicole Malliotakis as a member of Congress on both sides of the bridge. She has been a partner to us, and a friend of law enforcement and always pushed for common sense legislation. Finally, I am over the top about sending Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny back to Albany as a representative of the 46th Assembly District.”  

Golden gave an inspiring and animated speech to the captive audience. 

“We are on our way to making this country great again,” Golden said.  “This has been one of the toughest elections — it’s been tight for months — but this city, state and nation have awoken. They’ve seen what is happening to their families — what it costs them to put food on the table, the immigration issue, crime in the city. But that is about to change under a great president: Donald J. Trump.” 

Sliwa addressed the crowd with a message to Democrats: “It’s over. We are taking our city back.” 

At the conclusion of the event, Trump was leading his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, according to the Associated Press. By the following morning, it was clear that he would indeed become the 47th president of the United States, after getting the 270 electoral votes needed. Winning Wisconsin and many battleground states such as Pennsylvania set Trump as the president-elect, and Harris conceded on Wednesday evening, Nov. 6. 

Harris said that she called Trump before giving her concession speech to congratulate him on the victory and promised to engage in a peaceful transition to Trump’s second term but promised to continue advocating for the Democratic party regardless of the election’s rightward trend. 

“Sometimes the fight takes a while,” Harris said in her concession speech. “That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”

At the GOP watch party, the Republican and Conservative success was celebrated.

“Whether you are a Republican from Peoria, an Independent from southern California, or a Conservative from Anchorage, Alaska, it doesn’t matter,” Barsamian said. “Tonight is a celebration of our democracy, which is the cornerstone of the United States of America.”