Demond Meeks will have the Democratic line for November's general election after prevailing in Tuesday's primary for the 137th District seat in the state Assembly.
Meeks, the incumbent, defeated challenger Willie Lightfoot, a member of Rochester City Council. He received 66.4% of the vote, and Lightfoot pulled in 33.5%.
"The hard work paid off," Meeks said. "I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my labor brothers and sisters, and I'm really grateful to the voters for trusting and believing in this movement."
While Meeks also has the Working Families Party line, Lightfoot has no additional party lines and will not appear on the ballot for the November general election. Meeks will face a challenge from Republican Marcus Williams.
The district covers part of the city's west side as well as Gates.
Meeks said his top priorities if elected to another term lie in education, housing stability, food security, and mental health resources. He said public engagement is key to meeting those goals.
"We do that by way of continuing to engage with community members," Meeks said. "...We continue to have an open door policy at 614 West Main Street, that's my office there."
Meeks is a former labor organizer with 1199 SEIU. He was first elected in 2020 on a largely progressive platform that emphasized housing reform and labor rights.
Lightfoot is a retired Rochester firefighter who has served as an at-large member of City Council, a position he was first elected to in 2017. He was a county legislator from 2005 to 2015.
In a phone call Tuesday night, Lightfoot seemed reluctant to accept the results of the election. He cited concern over an issue with Board of Elections' live results portal. That website typically gives a live count of the number of districts left to report in, giving a clear picture of where in the race the count stands.
That piece was missing Tuesday night, with only a tally of votes made available. A call to the Democratic elections commissioner Jackie Ortiz was not immediately returned.
"It is what it is, I'm done," Lightfoot said. "No comment."