{"id":121705,"date":"2026-02-03T19:41:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/121705\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:41:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:41:16","slug":"queens-voters-head-to-the-polls-for-assembly-district-36-special-election-to-fill-mamdanis-old-seat-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/121705\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens voters head to the polls for Assembly District 36 special election to fill Mamdani\u2019s old seat \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Diana\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Diana Moreno casts her vote in the D36 special election at PS 166Q. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud. <\/p>\n

Voters across the 36th Assembly District took to the polls Tuesday morning to elect a successor to fill Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s old seat in a special election that has pitted three progressive candidates against each other.<\/p>\n

Diana Moreno<\/a>, an organizer within the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA); Rana Abdelhamid<\/a>, founder of local anti-violence non-profit Malikah; and Mary Jobaida<\/a>, a Bangladeshi immigrant advocating for the Queensbridge Houses community, are all contesting the ongoing special election.<\/p>\n

\"AA resident casts their vote at P.S. 122Q. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.<\/p>\n

Moreno, who earned the Queens Democratic Party nomination as well as receiving key endorsements from Mamdani and the DSA, is the clear frontrunner in the race and cast her ballot at P.S. 166Q shortly after 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

Moreno, addressing a significant number of campaign volunteers who accompanied her to the polling site, expressed confidence that she would emerge victorious from the special election.
\n\"MorenoMoreno and her supporters. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.\n<\/p>\n

She told her \u201cincredible group of volunteers\u201d that her campaign was not an individual one but part of a wider democratic socialist movement that would stand up to \u201cfascism\u201d in the federal government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just about one person. This is about a movement to center the dignity of working people,\u201d Moreno told supporters.\n<\/p>\n

She pledged to be an \u201cunwavering ally\u201d to Mamdani if she is elected to Albany, adding that she would build on Mamdani\u2019s legacy in the Assembly by ensuring that the district continues to be represented by a democratic socialist.<\/p>\n

Jobaida and Abdelhamid are also DSA members and boasted platforms that were ideologically similar to Moreno\u2019s. All three candidates had pledged to fight for a tax increase for the state\u2019s wealthiest residents as well as protecting the district\u2019s immigrant community by fighting for New York for All, which would prevent state and local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration authorities.<\/p>\n

But voters across the district pointed to Moreno\u2019s endorsements and her strong links to the DSA as key reasons for their vote.\n<\/p>\n

Andrew Grossman, speaking at P.S. 122Q, said he was \u201cvery close\u201d between two candidates but said endorsements from Mamdani and the DSA pushed him toward Moreno. He noted that Astoria<\/a> is a DSA stronghold and believes that Moreno\u2019s election would represent a sign of \u201ccontinued strength and cohesion\u201d within the community.<\/p>\n

\"AndrewAndrew Grossman. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe seemed like the strongest candidate,\u201d Grossman said. \u201cThis district, in particular, gas been very strong for the DSA\u2026 We have them on every level of voting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean and Jordana Williams also said they voted for Moreno because of the long list of endorsements she picked up, pointing in particular to the Working Families Party (WFP)<\/a> endorsement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t done a ton of research, but it was the endorsements for me,\u201d Jordana Williams said outside P.S. 122Q. \u201cEssentially, I\u2019ll vote for whoever is running on the Working Families Party line because I want to support working families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SeanSean and Jordana Williams. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.<\/p>\n

Eric, a voter at P.S. 122 Q who did not disclose his last name, said he liked all three candidates, adding that all candidates appeared to be \u201cpeople you can trust\u201d and people who are involved in the local community. However, Eric said he voted for Moreno because of her endorsements, pointing to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s endorsement last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI figured I\u2019d trust the opinion of someone who knows more about politics than myself,\u201d Eric said.
\n\"D36D36 candidate Eric at P.S. 122Q. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.\n<\/p>\n

Another voter at P.S. 122Q, who wished to be identified as Dan, did not disclose who he voted for but stated that he voted for the candidate be believes best represents the working class, and not billionaires. Dan\u2019s main issue is affordability, which is why he chose to come out to vote despite the freezing temperatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really was a decision this time, because all of the candidates were saying they were about affordability,\u201d Dan said. \u201cBut only one of them had the right endorsements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor, a voter at P.S. 166Q who did not wish to disclose her last name, said she voted for Moreno because of Mamdani\u2019s endorsement.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI really love that Zohran backed her and I love what she stands for too,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThey all seem great, but Zohran backed her and I back Zohran.\u201d
\n\"D36D36 resident Taylor at P.S. 166Q. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.\n<\/p>\n

Stay tuned to QNS.com for more updates on the special election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Diana Moreno casts her vote in the D36 special election at PS 166Q. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud. Voters…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[53295,29438,2495,42983,9,24,63,122,124,123,29440,18213,17933,82],"class_list":["post-121705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-ad-36-special-election","tag-diana-moreno","tag-dsa","tag-mary-jobaida","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-rana-abdelhamid","tag-special-election","tag-wfp","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}