Jeremy Zellner declared victory Tuesday evening, February 3, in a special election for the vacant seat representing the New York State Senate's 61st District. Zellner made his announcement while unofficial vote results showed him leading by a 20-point margin over Republican Dan Gagliardo.
Zellner said, "We won, and we won big. With your help, we sent a message tonight that the Democratic party in Erie County is united."
As of 11:17 PM on Tuesday, Zellner had 59.52% of the vote, and Gagliardo had 39.96% of the vote.
“Special elections are much different than the general [election] and you don't know what to expect," Gagliardo said Tuesday night in a speech to his supporters.
"So, today was just one of those days where, again, 12% of the vote is not a lot of people. I can't believe we have 205,000 people out there and only 12% vote," Gagliardo said. "There's something wrong with that. We need to change that. We need to engage people. That's what the whole campaign was about.”
Zellner declared in his opening statement, "Make no mistake that this win shouts from the rooftops that Trump and his MAGA movement have no place here in Western New York."
Zellner and his supporters followed the results from the Eldredge Bicycle Club in the City of Tonawanda, while Gagliardo and his supporters watched the results come in at D'Avolio Kitchen in East Amherst, a business Gagliardo owns.
As Zellner celebrated his victory Tuesday night, State Senate elect Jeremy Zellner highlighted immigration fears he says are being felt just minutes from Tonawanda.
“Sunday, I was at a Mosque on Forest in Buffalo. I was talking to about 20 Somali men and their imam. You know, hearing their concerns about the fact that they’re packing their kids’ birth certificates in their lunches every day. That is not the America we should be in right now, and that is not far away, people; that is about a three-minute drive from the Tonawanda line here,” said Zellner.
Tuesday night's race was to determine who would represent the 61st District for the remainder of the term originally earned by Sean Ryan, who was elected as Buffalo's mayor in November. He vacated his Senate seat before being sworn in as mayor on January 1.
A rematch is expected in November, when the seat goes up for a full two-year term. Jon Rivera is running against Zellner in a Democratic primary. Gagliardo said on Tuesday he is considering continuing his campaign and will make a decision soon.
“I don't know. I'm gonna speak to my wife and my family, and I'll make a determination pretty quick," Gagliardo told members of the press.
