Results For 2026 Local Primary Elections In Western New York

After months of political signs covering our lawns and political ads being all over the TV and radio, just when you thought the madness was over, it's actually just truly getting started. The 2026 election cycle is in full swing, and now that the people of the Empire State have completed our primary elections, we have a much better idea of who will be running in the general election coming this fall. But, with that clarity, it also means you can expect the races to heat up a lot more as the various political parties can now focus on the other parties instead of the infighting that normally happens during primary season.

With the 2026 general election now set for Tuesday, November 3, 2026, the various candidates who are running for the general election are planning their platforms to get us out to vote in just 5 short months.

Primary Election Day 2026 in the Empire State was Tuesday, June 23rd, and the voting polls across New York were open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. During the 15 hours that people could vote, plus the nine days available for early voting, fewer than 36,000 votes were cast in Erie County, along with around 4,000 votes being cast in Niagara County; the unofficial results are now available.

What Offices Were Being Elected This Year?

Back in 2024, which was a Presidential election year, voter turnout was relatively high. That, of course, did not happen this year. Primary elections are notorious for having very low turnout, which is the case, as around 10% of eligible voters came out in Niagara County, with that number sitting around 13% in Erie County. That is abysmally low.

The Unofficial Results Are In

The unofficial results show several races were decided on election night:

• Democratic Primary For New York State Comptroller
  • Incumbent Tom DiNapoli earned more than 61% of the vote to beat
    Drew Warshaw and Raj Goyle
• Democratic Primary For Representative in the US Congress, 23rd District
  • Aaron Gies is projected to have beaten Kevin Stocker after earning more than 68% of the vote.
• Democratic Primary For Representative in the US Congress, 234th District
  • Alissa J. Ellman earned more than 58% of the vote to defeat Diana K. Kastenbaum.
• Democratic Primary For New York State Senate, 61st District:
  • Jon Rivera beat incumbent Jeremy Zellner with more than 54% of the vote.
• Democratic Primary For New York State Assembly, 149th District:
  • Adam Bojak gathered just about 49% of the vote to beat Kevin Deese and Karen Hoak in a tough race.
• Republican Primary For Town of Collins Justice:
  • Michael Cooper beat Kurt Stitzel by just 4 votes, gaining 50.8% to win.

When Will Western New Yorkers Get The Final Primary Election Results?

Like all elections in the Empire State, all of the results we've thus far are considered unofficial. Following state election law, the final results don't aren't certified until everything is fully canvassed.

According to the New York State Board of Elections calendar, the final canvass for these primary elections will start on July 6, 2026, at 2:00 pm.

Until then, you can view the full unofficial voting results in Erie County here, in Niagara County here, and New York Statewide here.