Brian A. Cunningham won the Democratic nomination with over 90% of the vote from the Kings County Dems in the 43rd assembly district special election in Brooklyn to replace former Assembly member Diana Richardson.
The flurry snowstorm that wouldn’t end this past weekend may have something to do with the extremely low early voting turnout that began on Saturday. At the wrap of Day 2 of voting on Sunday, March 13, the Board of Elections announced via Twitter that a grand unofficial total of 39 people had voted so far.
Cunningham had last run for city council in District 40 to replace then term-limited Councilmember Mathieu Eugene in 2021, but reluctantly dropped out. Cunningham’s wife was battling Stage 4 endometriosis at the time. They decided to take the time off and tend to her health and family wellness rather than continue in the race, said Cunningham.
Jelanie Deshong was the director of government relations at SUNY Downstate Hospital and is running on the Working Families Party line against Cunningham. Most recently he served as assistant secretary of intergovernmental affairs for Gov. Kathy Hochul. Deshong also said that he anticipates that most voters will vote on Election Day so he’s not worried about low turnout.