Julie Won Wins LIC's 26th District City Council Primary Race

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Among a field of 15 candidates, Julie Won has declared victory in the race for Long Island City's City Council seat after Friday's results showed her with an all but insurmountable lead over her closest rival, Amit Bagga.

Won, who held a narrow 0.8 percent lead on election night, was left with a 13-point lead after a whopping 15 rounds of ranked-choice voting, winning 56.5 percent of the vote against Bagga's 43.5 percent, according to incomplete results released on Friday.

Won's win was further solidified on Tuesday, after ranked-choice results and a preliminary absentee ballot count were calculated and pushed her total win to 56.7 percent of the vote.

"Our people powered campaign is headed to City Hall," Won tweeted on Saturday morning alongside an image of the ranked-choice vote tabulation. "Feeling fired up & ready fight for working New Yorkers."

Throughout this primary election cycle, the race to represent District 26 remained one of the most crowded citywide.

16 people — 15 of whom were Democrats — ran to replace term-limited City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, who himself ran in the Queens Borough President race, but likely lost to incumbent Donovan Richards.

In the crowded field, Won benefited from ranked choice voting. When Julia Forman and Brent O'Leary were cut during the 14th and 15th round of ranked-choice voting, respectively, Won secured more of their second-place votes than Bagga, propelling her to an eventual 13-point lead.

In the weeks leading up to the election, Won had a slight edge over Bagga in the district's overall fundraising and endorsement race. However, Bagga outpaced Won when it came to funding from outside groups and endorsements from high-profile groups, leading some to believe he was the likely frontrunner in the race.

On Saturday, Bagga tweeted his thanks to District 26 voters and his campaign. While the statement was not a formal resignation he did thank voters for "very nearly" breaking a "historic glass ceiling" — alluding to the fact that he would have been the first queer South Asian to hold the district's seat.

He also said that public service is "a call I have answered for nearly 15 years and a call I intent to continue answering for the course of my life."

According to a Queens Post report, both Won and Bagga filed preemptive lawsuits last week against the city's Board of Elections (BOE) to maintain their right to have the courts review the final election count in the District 26 race.

This race, like all in the June primaries, won't be officially certified by the Board of Elections until at least July 12.

Won will be heavily favored in November's general election, where she will face one Republican. Assuming she wins, she will take office in January.