By Jason Emerson
editor
Rachel May has won the race for state senate district 53 with 49 percent of the vote over Janet Burman’s 35 percent. May, a Democrat, received 44,717 votes while Burman, a Republican, received 32,636 votes.
Current state senator David Valesky, whom May defeated in the Democratic Party primary earlier this year, remained on the ballot on two third-party lines, and received 10,367 votes, or 11 percent.
In her victory speech a little after 11 p.m., May said, “To the people of the 53rd district, the trust you have placed in me as your new state senator is overwhelming.”
She said the high voter engagement is “an extraordinary moment in our history,” and with the new Democratic majority in the New York State Senate “we have the opportunity to be part of important changes that will be good for Central New York” such as reforming election laws, fixing education funding and “finally get serious about climate change and poverty.”
On her campaign Facebook page, Burman congratulated May on her victory. “I’m proud that we kept our contest to a discussion of the issues,” Burman wrote. “Thanks to all who stepped up and helped me during the last days of my campaign.”
According to the state board of elections, when the senate race vote totals are broken down by county, May won Onondaga County by 14,623 votes and Oneida County by 553 votes, while Burman won Madison County by 2,095 votes.
