Dan Quart Declares Victory In UES Assembly Race

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Incumbent lawmaker Dan Quart has defended his State Assembly seat on the Upper East Side, a spokesperson for Quart's campaign announced Friday.

Young challenger Cameron Koffman called Quart Friday to concede the race one month after the in-person vote for the Democratic nomination for New York's 73rd Assembly District. The incumbent was leading Koffman by about 916 votes following the in-person vote with nearly 12,000 absentee votes to count.

"After a month in limbo, the absentee ballots have been counted, and it's official: we won! I want to begin by thanking everyone who voted in person on Election Day and via absentee ballot in the days prior... Our community has spoken, and they want an experienced progressive who delivers results to fight for them in Albany. It is an honor and a privilege to be that person," Quart said in a statement.

The number of absentee ballots vastly outweighed the number of in-person votes in the 73rd Assembly District. Only 4,458 voters cast their ballots on the day of the election compared to 11,998 returned absentee ballots. All New Yorkers were allowed to vote via absentee ballot this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Quart has represented the district since winning a 2011 special election to succeed former Assemblymember Jonathan Bing. The longtime lawmaker is also running for Manhattan District Attorney in 2021.

Koffman, a recent Yale University graduate and a descendant of the LeFrak real estate fortune, was the first Democrat to run against Quart in a primary since the incumbent took office. The young challenger's undergraduate studies were the subject of a legal challenge filed by Quart's campaign to have Koffman kicked off the ballot. Quart's lawyers argued Koffman doesn't meet New York's residency requirements for elected officials because he registered to vote in Connecticut, but New York's highest court ruled in favor of Koffman.

"With a clearer picture as votes continue to be counted 30 days after Election Day, I am proud to have earned the votes of thousands of our district’s residents. While it looks like we came up just short in our efforts to win this primary, I want to take a moment to celebrate all that our campaign accomplished. We won a major victory in court expanding voting rights, set a fundraising record, and helped create the highest ever turnout for an Assembly primary in our district’s history," Koffman said in a statement Friday.