Author: Caitlin Kasunich (Caitlin Kasunich)

Despite a close race throughout the evening on Election Night, Democrat Thomas DiNapoli defeated Republican Harry Wilson to retain his position as New York Comptroller, reported Bloomberg. The article stated that the Associated Press declared him to be the winner with 94 percent of the precincts reporting.

Republican Mike Grimm defeated Democratic Rep. Michael McMahon, the incumbent, for the U.S. House seat that represents all of Staten Island and part of Brooklyn, reported MyFoxNY.com. According to the article, Grimm is a former Marine and FBI agent whose win marks one of several Republican victories of U.S. House seats in the state.

Despite being under federal investigation, Brooklyn Democrat Vito Lopez was re-elected to his Bushwick Assembly seat on Tuesday, reported the New York Daily News. According to the article, the city’s Department of Investigation is looking into whether or not Lopez’s Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council billed the city for $340,000 in fraudulent expenses.

While former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo spoke of the “gratitude” that he felt after watching his son, Andrew, win the gubernatorial election tonight, he also said that the governor-elect still has a difficult road ahead of him – much more difficult than when he served as governor from 1983 to 1994, reported the New...

The Associated Press reported that 56-year-old Harry Wilson, a political newcomer and former hedge fund manager, is leading Democratic Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in the New York comptroller’s race, according to early reports. The comptroller is in charge of auditing state and local government spending and manages the public workers’ pension fund, said the AP.

The New York Times reported on the story of Andrew Cuomo’s gubernatorial victory tonight over his Republican rival Carl Paladino, which marks the first time in New York’s history that the son of a governor has been elected to the same office. Cuomo’s father is former three-term Gov. Mario Cuomo.

CNN is projecting that Republicans will take control of the U.S. House of Representatives following today’s election. The network also reported that the party is expected to win at least 50 seats.

The Associated Press is calling the governor’s race to Andrew Cuomo and the two senator races to Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer.

Residents have only a half-hour left to go out and cast their votes in the local and statewide election. At 9 p.m., the polls will close, and the count will begin to determine the state’s governor, attorney general and congressional and senatorial races, among others.

Throughout the day, Long Island has experienced an above-average voter turnout despite a few reported problems with new electronic voting machines in some districts, reported the Long Island Press. According to the article, Long Island is “projected to meet or exceed the voter turnout in 2006,” which was over 40 percent.