Two days after the midterm election delivered stunning victories for Democrats across the country, Brooklyn politicos were torn on how to describe the results.
The party, which had been cautiously optimistic about a “blue wave” as voters grew frustrated with President Donald Trump and Republicans, took back control of the U.S. House and the Senate. It didn’t end there. Democrats also took dozens of governor’s races and won hundreds of state legislative seats.
“The polls were wrong. It wasn’t simply a blue wave. It was an American tsunami,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a born-and-raised Brooklynite now poised to become the first Black Speaker of the House, during a press conference on Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, now poised to become the next Speaker of the House, celebrated the results of the midterms on Tuesday night. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
In conservative-leaning southern Brooklyn, Democrats Joey Cohen-Saban, Chris McCreight, Joyce Xie and Larry He flipped three state Assembly seats and one state Senate district. He’s win in SD-17 helped secure Democrats’ new veto-proof supermajority in the state Senate.
Republicans saw it differently.
Liam McCabe, chairman of the Brooklyn Republican Party, called it a “Democratic blizzard” fueled by “national headwinds.” Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny, a Republican who lost his seat on Tuesday night to McCreight, said it was “an avalanche that hit Republicans.”
Whether a tsunami, a blizzard or an avalanche, the result is the same: for now, Brooklyn is back to blue.
The Red Wave before the Blue Tsunami
Republicans made massive inroads in Brooklyn, home to New York State’s largest number of registered Democrats, in the 2022 midterm elections. In one night, the party unseated three longtime Democratic incumbents as Michael Novakhov, Alec Brook-Krasny and Lester Chang won in Assembly Districts 45, 46, and 49, respectively; Democrats also failed to reclaim NY-11 as Max Rose fell to Republican incumbent Nicole Malliotakis.
It was a seismic shift in a borough that had been solidly blue for decades.
Assembly Members Michael Novahov (third from left) and Alec Brook-Krasny (second from left) with state Sen. Steve Chan (third from right) in 2025. File photo by Robert Pearl
Many said the Brooklyn Democratic Party hadn’t done enough to support its southern Brooklyn candidates in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms. The party also didn’t seem to be connecting with its immigrant communities. Eastern European enclaves in nabes like Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay were among the first to go red. Facing increases in hate crimes and feeling ignored by Democrats, Asian communities across the five boroughs have also shifted dramatically to the right in recent years.
At the time, outgoing Assembly Member Mathylde Frontus — who lost AD-46 to Brook-Krasny in 2022 — said she had seen it coming.
“We’ve had the writing on the wall for a long time,” she told Brooklyn Paper in 2022. “Two years ago, many electeds, including myself, won our races by the skin of our teeth … if Democrats are serious about making inroads with voters, they have to see things as they are, not as they want things to be.”
Republicans, meanwhile, saw it as “just the beginning.”
Max Rose campaign signs on the floor of his election night event in 2022. File photo by Paul Frangipane
Two years later, as Trump secured his second term, Steven Chan defeated one-term Democrat Iwen Chu in state Senate District 17. The same year, Democrats Joey Cohen-Saban and Chris McCreight mounted their first challenges against Novakhov and Brook-Krasny. Both were unsuccessful.
Ahead of the 2026 election, Fran Vella-Marone, head of the Brooklyn Conservative Party, said the explanation for the success of conservative candidates was simple.
“We’ve been giving [voters] a message that they want to hear, and the people that we’ve been electing are people that are working hard in the community,” she said. “We’ve tapped into the Asian community, we’ve tapped into the Russian community. We’ve tapped into all these communities, and these people agree with the message that we have, and they want to keep people that have that message representing them.”
A Democratic sweep in southern Brooklyn
Democrats didn’t give up on flipping the districts back. As the 2026 midterms approached, volunteers fanned out across the borough to promote Cohen-Saban, McCreight, Xie and He.
There were some distractions. The Brooklyn Democratic Party has been mired in conflict for months as two factions — one headed by former party chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the other by longtime district leader Julio Peña III — battle over who is really in charge of the party.
Perhaps the most promising candidate was Cohen-Saban, a relative unknown who came within 232 votes of defeating Novakhov in 2024. His predecessor, Steven Cymbrowitz, lost to Novakhov by nearly 4,500 votes in 2022.
Joyce Xie (third from right) campaigning with Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn (center) and supporters. Photo courtesy of Joyce Xie/Facebook
But all four candidates had reason to be optimistic. McCreight was boosted by a massive volunteer effort and support from former and incumbent Council Members Justin Brannan and Kayla Santosuosso; Xie and He were backed by Council Member Susan Zhuang and Assembly Member William Colton, a conservative Democrat who held onto his southern Brooklyn seat as his colleagues were defeated.
Still, it was unclear if all four could be successful — until about 15 minutes after the polls closed on Tuesday night, when they each took sizable leads over their Republican opponents.
Cohen-Saban’s win was the largest of the night. He took more than 61% of the vote to Novakhov’s 38%, defeating the incumbent by more than 5,000 votes, according to unofficial Board of Elections results.
“I want to congratulate Joey Cohen-Saban on his victory,” Novakhov said in a statement. “We fought a hard race, and while we had our differences, I respect the decision of the voters. I wish Joey nothing but success as he takes on the responsibility of representing our community. The people of this district deserve nothing less.”
He and McCreight followed close behind, winning 57% and 55% of the vote in their respective districts, Xie earned 52% of the vote in AD-49 and defeated Chang by around 800 votes. She is the first Asian woman to represent the district.
Chris McCreight, celebrated his win on Nov. 3. Photo by Kirstyn Brendlen
“Tonight, our community made its voice heard loud and clear. Thanks to your hard work, dedication, and belief in our shared future, we officially won this election!” Xie said in a statement. “Tomorrow, the real work begins. I am ready to head to Albany to fight every day for our schools, affordable housing, childcare, safe streets, and the resources our community deserves.”
Celebrating at McCreight’s victory party in Bay Ridge, Peña said he had been expecting much closer races, and that he was “pleasantly shocked and surprised by these margins.”
“I think it speaks to the moment we’re in, that people are really tired of how things have been happening and are ready for new leadership,” Peña said. “And I think the fact that we won every race in south Brooklyn speaks to that moment.”
What drove Dems to victory?
Across the country, the blue wave was seen as a rebuke of the Trump administration and its policies, which Americans widely feel have led to an unsustainably high cost of living.
Cohen-Saban and McCreight have both criticized their Republican opponents for failing to fulfill the needs of their constituents.
Late last month, Cohen-Saban told Brooklyn Paper that AD-45 “is not what it used to be, and it doesn’t look like it used to look.” State funding for infrastructure projects and community organizations has dried up during Novakhov’s tenure, he said.
“Not a single bill passed, not a dime provided to the district. I mean, it’s sad, and we’re getting the brunt of it here,” he said.
In AD-46, many residents are struggling with skyrocketing living expenses and utility bills, McCreight told Brooklyn Paper, and Brook-Krasny “does not have an office that is functional.”
“Every single neighborhood in this district deserves the right representation, and they haven’t been getting it,” he said in his victory speech.
Though Democrats won big in Brooklyn and across the country, he said, “a lot of the damage is already done, and it’s going to start affecting people even more in January … it’s going to be important because people are really going to be looking for help, and it’s important that we have the right people there for you.”
Brannan — whose former Council District 47 overlaps with large parts of AD-46 — agreed.
Voters showed their support for Alec Brook-Krasny in Brighton Beach on Election Day. Photo by Erica Price
“When times are tough, you can do two things as a politician. Number one, you could try to make things better. Number two, you can empathize with people. If you can’t make things better, you can at least say, ‘Look, I feel your pain.’ Alec Brook-Krasny was doing neither. He was actively making things worse, and he was denying people’s reality, telling them that they were not struggling when they were,” he said. “And I think Chris came in there and said, ‘Look, this is not about right and left. This is about top and bottom, and we’re all struggling right now.’”
Reached for comment a day after the election, Brook-Krasny rebutted those claims.
“[McCreight] produced so many lies that if l respond to every lie of his, we will spend three hours on the phone,” he said. “People in the district, they know very well that my office has been providing a great service, and I’m very, very grateful for my team. And that’s all I have to say.”
Republicans say the fight isn’t over
Despite Democrats’ resounding success in southern Brooklyn, Republicans say the fight isn’t over. McCabe, the head of the county Republican party, attributed the results to larger frustration toward national politics.
“From New York to California, there were some things that were just out of our control,” he said. “But I think those are kind of temporary. I think people did not fall in love with the socialists … I think, for the most part, people were generally a little depressed, and I think it was kind of a national mood among moderate voters. I think a majority of the country sat this one out.”
Chan, who lost his race in SD-17 to He, also pointed to low turnout.
State Sen. Steve Chan at his swearing-in ceremony in 2025. File photo courtesy of Katherine Delgado
“I’m sorry everyone, we did not win this election. The voter turnout was extremely low, just about 39,000,” he said in a statement. “You have my gratitude for giving me a chance to represent South Brooklyn as your senator. I regret that the Democrats once again have a veto proof super majority.”
But voter turnout across the country was higher than it was during the 2022 midterms, according to Politico, especially in Democratic-leaning counties.
In the four contested districts in southern Brooklyn, turnout was about equal to the 2022 Red Wave, BOE records show. In AD-45, there were a total of 23,031 votes cast in 2022, and Novakhov defeated Cymbrowitz with 13,757 votes. This year, the district recorded 22,140 votes, and Cohen-Saban secured 13,636.
Brook-Krasny said it was “very hard to accept what happened in this country” on election night, and that he was “very surprised” by McCreight’s victory.
“It was an avalanche that hit Republicans,” he said. “No matter how strong you are, you can’t withstand an avalanche. Honestly, I think it was my best campaign ever. But you know, yesterday was a very special night for Republicans, so it’s all right. It happens.”
The party did celebrate some victories.
U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis secured her fourth term in office in NY-11, the city’s only Republican congressional district, securing 56% of the vote to Democrat Mike DeCillis’ 43.77%.
U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis won a fourth term in office, trouncing Democrat Mike DeCillis. Photo courtesy of U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis
Once considered a swing district, NY-11 is now solidly red. Since 2013, it has only elected one Democrat, Max Rose, who served just one term before losing to Malliotakis in 2020. In 2022 increased her margin of victory when Rose challenged her again; she defeated her 2024 opponent Allison Morse by a whopping 73,513 votes.
While Malliotakis has come under fire for her support of Trump and his policies, she has consistently secured federal funding and support for programs and services within her district.
“I attribute this victory right here in the bluest of cities, New York City, to the work that we’ve done delivering for the people of Staten Island,” she said. “The fact that we have resolved tens of thousands of issues for people in our community, our friends and neighbors who needed help.”
But it was another victory that McCabe saw as a symbol of success for Republicans in Brooklyn. Etan Harris, the Republican candidate for civil court judge in the 8th municipal district, defeated Democrat Susan Liebman by a slim margin, earning 50.96% of votes to Liebman’s 48.82%.
“I think that Etan’s win is much bigger than what it showed because even under these headwinds in this blizzard, in this … Democratic blizzard I’m calling him Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” McCabe said. “He got the team through the night, and what we did in that campaign, we’re going to continue to work on it. We’re going to replicate it.”
In the last few years, he felt the party may have lost sight of delivering on their tried-and-true issues and paid the price at the polls.
“Maybe in some ways we need a little shellacking to refocus and get back to what voters want, and I think what Republicans are best suited for, which is to provide real affordability, real wealth for people, home ownership, jobs,” McCabe said. “That’s the best way out of any economic situation, and I think the socialists are going to fight over who’s going to drive us closer to poverty.”
What’s next?
In January, Xie, Cohen-Saban, He and McCreight will take their seats in Albany alongside dozens of incumbent Democrats from across the borough. Including SD-17, five Republican state Senate districts flipped blue, meaning Democrats will have a supermajority in both chambers.
Two new Democratic congress members — Brad Lander in NY-10 and Claire Valdez in NY-7 — are headed to Washington, DC, too, though their victories were all but guaranteed in heavily-Democratic districts.
“The American people have spoken all across the land … and made clear they’ve had enough of the extremism, enough of the corruption,” Jeffries said. “They want a congress that’s going to deliver for the American people and that’s exactly what House Democrats will do as soon as we get into office in January.”
Back home, Brannan said Democrats will work to hang on to their newly-restored seats and to flip NY-11. Though DeCillis lost by more than 20,000 votes, he came closer to victory than any Democrat has since Malliotakis took office.
Brad Lander, one of two new Democratic congressembers from Brooklyn. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Next year, New York Democrats will put forward a referendum on allowing an additional round of redistricting in 2028, aiming to improve the party’s odds nationally and regain several congressional seats. If it passes, NY-11 would likely be redrawn, paving the way for a possible flip.
“For the amount of working class people and immigrants that are in Southern Brooklyn and Staten Island, it should not be represented by Republicans who are actively working against them,” Brannan said. “So I think [we] make sure that we protect these seats in the years to come, and try to pick up NY-11.”
Republicans, meanwhile, will be working to climb out of the hole, McCabe said, by registering new voters and recruiting new prospective candidates. A number of Brooklynites interested in running for office have already reached out, he said, and he feels confident the party can regain its ground.
“It’s not a one-shot game,” McCabe said. “It’s more like a World Series. You take some losses, it’s very rare that you constantly sweep. So I look at it more like, we’re down a game and we’re gonna come back and win the series in a few years.”