Public defender Tiffany Caban conceded the Democratic primary for Queens, New York, district attorney to Queens Borough President Melinda Katz (D) Tuesday, ending a six-week-long dispute over the election’s outcome.

 

The primary to succeed Richard Brown, who died in May 2019 after 28 years in office, drew national attention when presidential candidates Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) endorsed Caban. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Ny.) also endorsed Caban, while former Rep. Joseph Crowley, whom Ocasio-Cortez defeated in a primary election last year, fundraised for Katz.

 

Caban appeared to win on election night with a lead of 1,100 votes over Katz. Katz, however, had a 20-vote lead after absentee and provisional ballots were certified on July 3. The city’s Board of Elections completed a full manual recount on July 29 which found Katz ahead by 60 votes.

 

Caban challenged the results of the recount before the Kings County Supreme Court, saying that the Board had invalidated a number of ballots which should have been counted. In his ruling Tuesday, Judge John G. Ingram found that most of the ballots named in Caban’s challenge were not valid, meaning that there were not enough ballots remaining in question to change the election’s result.

 

Katz will face attorney Daniel Kogan (R) in the November 5 general election.