Rep. Carolyn Maloney narrowly holds off Suraj Patel in NY-12 Democratic Primary

• Rep. Carolyn Maloney defeated primary challenger Suraj Patel in New York's 12th congressional district, which includes parts of Manhattan and Queens.
• Maloney, who defeated Patel with 60% of the vote in 2018 primary elections, is facing a much closer race this time around.
• Because of delays in counting, the race was not certified and called until six weeks after the election.

The stakes:

Long-time Rep. Carolyn Maloney won her tight race for re-election against primary challenger Suraj Patel in New York's 12th congressional district.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York allowed all voters to cast an absentee ballot if they desired. Voters' ballots will be accepted if they are postmarked by election day and arrive at election offices by June 30.

Under current New York law, all in-person votes must be counted and crossed-checked against those who voted absentee before any absentee ballots can be processed. The delays in processing ballots and certifying the results meant the race wasn't called by Decision Desk HQ until August 5.

Maloney, the chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has represented New York City in Congress since 1993. The 12th district includes most of the East Side of Manhattan and some parts of Midtown, Roosevelt Island, and parts of Western Queens and Brooklyn, including the neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City, and Greenpoint.

New York's 12th district is also one of the wealthiest in the nation with a median household income of over $110,000, according to the US Census Bureau and had relatively high levels of residents temporarily relocating away from the city due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a New York Times analysis of smartphone data.

Patel, an attorney and activist who worked for former President Barack Obama's campaign and administration and now teaches at New York University, also challenged Maloney in 2018, winning 40% of the vote to Maloney's 60%.

He ran a grassroots campaign on a platform of enacting progressive policy priorities and expanding economic mobility and the social safety net for New Yorkers and on a broader message of bringing new voices and a change to the status-quo to Congress.