Update: Martin Malavé Dilan Wins Primary, Headed to 8th Term in State Senate

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — Incumbent State Sen. Martin Malavé Dilan easily won Tuesday's primary election, all but ensuring his eighth term as the State Senator from New York's 18th District.

With nearly all of the votes counted, Dilan had 55.04 percent of the vote, with challenger Debbie Medina at 37.82 percent.

The State Senate's 18th district covers parts of Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Bushwick and Cypress Hills.

The contest was anticipated to be competitive. Dilan, an Independent, has held the seat since 2002. Medina, his challenger, is a Williamsburg native, a community organizer and Democratic Socialist.

Medina won 42 percent of the vote against Dilan in 2014's Democratic party primary.

Since the late 1980's, Medina has worked with the community organization Los Sures in south Williamsburg, an area that experienced extreme gentrification over the past decade.

According to the candidate's website, "Debbie has brought together countless tenants in the community, building tenant associations and winning critical victories against greedy landlords. She has organized dozens of buildings to launch rent strikes, obtaining repairs and rent reductions."

The revelation that Medina physically punished her son during his teens caused the candidate to loose critical endorsements, as DNAInfo reported. The boy is now behind bars, serving a lifetime sentence for beating his girlfriend's son to death.

But Dilan, the incumbent, is not without his own set of controversies. He was a vocal supporter and confidant of the disgraced Vito Lopez, who was charged with sexually abusing multiple staffers. Dilan has also received criticism from community groups for accepting donations from real estate developers to the tune of nearly $200,000.

The general election will take place on Nov. 8, but the Republican Party did not field a challenger in the 18th District.

Photo: Flickr user Lauren Manning via creative commons