New York City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, a gay man who co-chairs the City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus, won a February 3 special election to replace Brad Hoylman-Sigal in the New York State Senate.
Bottcher won 91.62% of the vote — just over 12,000 ballots cast — compared to Republican Charlotte Friedman’s 7.59%, or slightly more than 1,000 votes, in the 47th State Senate District, which runs along Manhattan’s West Side from Manhattan Valley to Greenwich Village.
“Tonight, the people of the 47th District made a clear choice for progress, integrity, and leadership that shows up,” Bottcher said in a statement. “I’m deeply grateful to every voter, volunteer, and neighbor who believed that government should work harder for working families — and I’m excited to get to work.”
Bottcher said he would be a “relentless advocate for safer streets, more affordable housing, reliable transit, and an economy that rewards work and treats people with dignity.”
Bottcher, 46, had previously announced a bid for New York’s 12th Congressional District, seeking to succeed retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler. Within 24 hours of filing, he set a state fundraising record for first-day donations, raising more than $683,000. He later exited the crowded field and instead ran for Hoylman-Sigal’s open Senate seat.
When announcing his switch to the Senate race, Bottcher said the decision was “rooted in where I believe I can do the most good immediately,” adding that the State Senate is “where critical decisions are being made on housing affordability, addressing the mental health crisis, safeguarding our environment, and defending New York from the Trump agenda.”
“I’m so proud that Erik is assuming the 47th Senate District that I had the privilege of representing on the West Side from ‘the gay bars to Zabar’s,'” Hoylman-Sigal posted to X, referring to a phrase he has used in recent years to describe the district.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will soon call a special election to fill Bottcher’s now-vacant City Council seat, which spans much of Manhattan’s West Side, from Hell’s Kitchen to the West Village, as well as parts of Midtown and Times Square.
Carl Wilson, Bottcher’s chief of staff, and Lindsey Boylan, an urban planner and former state aide, have already announced their candidacies.
Alexandria City Councilman R. Kirk McPike won Tuesday’s Democratic firehouse primary for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.
The openly gay McPike, who works as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), secured 60.5% of the vote in the four-way race among Democrats in the 5th House District.
Eileen Cassidy Rivera, a former Alexandria City School Board member, placed second, finishing ahead of criminal defense attorney Chris Leibig and Gregory Darrall, an openly gay teacher and labor leader.
Col. Bree Fram, a former Space Force officer forced to retire under the Trump administration's ban on transgender service members, has launched a campaign to represent Virginia in Congress, raising more than $102,000 in her first 24 hours as an official candidate.
An engineer by trade, Fram served 23 years in the military, including deployments to Iraq and Qatar with the U.S. Air Force during the Iraq War. She later became an officer in the U.S. Space Force and, in 2024, became the first transgender service member promoted to the rank of colonel. She was also named to Out magazine’s "Out 100" list of influential LGBTQ people that year.
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