Westchester County’s Independence Party has endorsed Democratic Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer in the special election for County Executive George Latimer’s vacated Senate seat.
According to the county Board of Elections, the 37th Senatorial District currently has 8,075 people registered in the Independence Party, giving Mayer an edge over her Republican opponent Julie Killian in a district where Democrats already outnumber Republicans by roughly 27,000 voters.
The Independence Party, the county’s third largest political party, endorsed Killian, a former Rye City councilwoman, two years ago when she unsuccessfully challenged Latimer, a Rye Democrat, for his Senate seat. One year later, Latimer successfully won election as county executive forcing him to vacate his seat at the end of 2017.
Killian won the Republican nomination earlier this month. She beat out a former inspector general in Yonkers and previous candidate for Westchester district attorney, Dan Schorr. For the special election, Killian has also garnered the backing of the Conservative Party and Reform Party.
Mayer and Killian will square off in the crucial special election on April 24, a date recently set by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, earlier this year.
Both major parties are looking to capitalize in the election since Republicans currently hold only a one-person majority, 31-30, with another Senate seat in the Bronx also up for grabs.
The district covers the cities of Yonkers, White Plains, New Rochelle and Rye, and the towns of Eastchester, Harrison, Mamaroneck, Rye, Bedford and North Castle.
