A hotly contested Democratic Primary for a Queens state legislature seat was decided by a recount done by hand Wednesday after a prior count had the candidates separated by only two votes.
Patrick Martinez declared victory in a contentious Assembly District 30 primary with a razor-thin seven-vote victory after the recount was completed on Wednesday, his campaign told The Post.
Martinez, the endorsed candidate of the Queens Democratic Committee and nephew of former borough Dem boss Joe Crowley, declared victory with 2,784 votes over Shamsul Haque, an ex-NYPD sergeant, who framed himself as a Mayor Zohran Mamdani-friendly progressive.
“I want to thank the voters who made their voices heard in this election,” Martinez wrote in a statement shared first with The Post. “This result belongs to you. Whether you voted for me or not, I will represent all of you.
“To our coalition of labor unions, elected leaders, and every single volunteer who knocked on a door, made a call, or talked to a neighbor: this would not be possible without you. In a race this close, every one of you is the reason we’re here,” he added, also thanking elections officials and giving a hat tip to his opponents.
“Their advocacy made this a better race, and will make me a better representative. I look forward to working alongside them for this district.”
Martinez led Haque by just 13 votes on Election Night on June 23, triggering an automatic recount that narrowed his margin down to just two votes. That margin necessitated the hand recount.
The Assembly’s 30th district includes the neighborhoods of Woodside, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Maspeth and Jackson Heights.
Current Assemblyman Steven Raga didn’t seek reelection to the seat and instead unsuccessfully ran for an open state Senate in a Democratic Party primary.
Raga lost to Mamdani-backed socialist Aber Kawas in the race to replace retiring Sen. Mike Gianaris.
State legislators serve two-year terms at an annual salary of $142,000.
