Elsie Encarnacion has won the Democratic primary race to succeed her boss Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala as the city council member for Council District 08, which represents East Harlem and the South Bronx.
Encarnacion, Ayala’s longtime chief of staff, emerged victorious in a crowded seven-way race after ranked choice results were released Tuesday. Preliminary vote counts on primary day, June 25, showed her with a significant but not insurmountable lead.
She thanked her supporters, volunteers, and family with an Instagram post shortly after the results were released.
“This moment belongs to all of us,” she wrote. “Let’s keep building. Let’s keep believing. Let’s keep moving forward.”
As the candidate favored to win going into primary day, June 24, Encarnacion raised more money and secured more big-name endorsements than any other candidate. Still, with so many candidates splitting the vote, Encarnacion walked away leading the pack after the initial tallies with 28.6% of the vote, followed by Wilfredo Lopez with 18.5% and Clarisa Ayaleto with 15.2% the bottom four candidates all had fewer than 12% of the vote.
On Tuesday, it wasn’t until the seventh round of ranked choice voting, when third place candidate Clarisa Ayaleto, the only candidate from the South Bronx, was eliminated and her votes were allocated to their remaining ranked candidate to determine the democratic nominee.
Alayeto’s votes thrust Encarnacion over the 50% threshold she needed to win, taking her from 43.5% of the vote to 58.3% of the vote and surging her more than 1,800 votes ahead of Lopez.
Encarnacion launched her campaign backed by over a decade of government experience and a well-organized operation buoyed by strong institutional backing. Throughout the race, she centered her message on affordable housing, youth programming, and support for small businesses—issues closely tied to her background in public service and local advocacy.
Her platform struck a chord with voters across the district, bolstered by her success in uniting labor unions, progressive organizations, and influential political clubs behind her candidacy.
