Sarah Clark has pulled off a big victory in the Democratic primary for the 136th Assembly District, according to unofficial primary results released Wednesday.
County elections officials have counted all machine, absentee, and affidavit ballots, and Clark pulled in around 63% of the 14,167 votes cast in the race. Justin Wilcox, a county legislator who had the county Democratic party’s endorsement, received roughly 28% of the votes. Nelson Lopatin, who’s worked as an internet consultant and in hotel management and development, and has served as president of the Brighton Chamber of Commerce for seven years, got 9%.
Clark said Wednesday that the victory was “exciting” and “humbling.” She attributed the win to her experience in government, the work she and her supporters did campaigning, her commitment to transparency and good government, and voters' desire for a fresh voice.
“I felt like I had a pretty good chance but didn’t think the margin would be that wide,” Clark said.
Clark currently serves as U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s acting state director. She previously held key regional staff positions for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and, after Gillibrand assumed the seat in 2009, became Gillibrand’s deputy state director.
The 136th Assembly District seat is currently vacant and a previously scheduled special election to fill it was canceled due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
Clark, who also has the Working Families Party line, will have no Republican opponent in the November general election. She faces a challenge from Libertarian candidate Steven Becker, and Wilcox still has the Independence Party line.