The Winner
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) won a fourth term in New York’s 15th Congressional District on Tuesday, Nov. 3, defeating Republican Stylo Sapaskis 76.8% to 10.6%. With about 90% of votes counted, Torres had 93,812 votes to Sapaskis’ 13,004, a margin of 80,808 votes, according to Associated Press election results. The AP called the race at 9:08 p.m. Eastern Time on election night.
Andre Easton of the Party for Socialism and Liberation took 8.7%, and Jose Vega of the Speak The Truth Party took 1.9%. Conservative Party candidate Gonzalo Duran also ran, so the Republican and Conservative lines backed different candidates.
The Race
Torres faced a primary challenge from former state Assembly Member Michael Blake (D) on June 23. Torres won 71.8% of the vote to Blake’s 21.8%, with Vega taking 5.7%, according to Ballotpedia’s race overview. Sapaskis and Duran ran unopposed for their parties’ nominations.
Before the election, Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the race Solid Democratic, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Democratic.
The district lies in the Bronx, according to the state’s 2024 congressional district map. It is home to about 751,700 people, and about 52.4% of residents are Hispanic. The median household income is about $47,100, about 22.3% of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, and about 29.8% of residents live below the poverty line.
What’s Next
Torres’ new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, and he returns to a House where his party now holds the majority after Democrats won control of the chamber. He serves on the Financial Services Committee and the House select committee on competition with China. Earlier this year, he told PoliticsNY that his priorities are affordability, housing, health care and economic opportunity, along with protecting immigrant communities from federal immigration enforcement.
---
AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.
---
Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article