AOC-Endorsed Tiffany Cabán Concedes Queens District Attorney Primary Election
IT’S OVER
Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Manhattan public defender Tiffany Cabán, who was endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and several other high-profile progressives, conceded the Democratic race for Queens district attorney on Tuesday. After weeks of recounts and legal disputes, Cabán’s opponent, Melinda Katz, won by 55 votes, 34,913 to 34,858. “To every woman, to every young person of color, to every queer person, every single human being who was inspired by the movement we built, you are next,” Cabán said while addressing supporters on Tuesday. “And I promise that I will be the first there, knocking on doors for you.”
Cabán, 31, initially declared victory when an unofficial tally count showed her ahead of the Queens borough president by about 1,000 votes after the June 25 primary. Katz then came in the lead by 20 votes after absentee and affidavit votes were counted, which required a manual recount due to the narrow margin. The Board of Elections certified Katz as the winner on July 29, but Cabán’s team challenged the results in court. The New York Daily News reports that a blow for the Cabán campaign came earlier Tuesday, when Kings County Supreme Court Justice John Ingram said dozens of ballots should not be counted because their party affiliation was not indicated.