As polls closed and votes were tallied late on November 6, New Yorkers voted in record numbers. Though nationally there was a split in the midterm congressional election, with Democrats capturing the House and Republicans retaining the Senate, New York remained solidly blue. The greatest victory for those watching the election results from Pelham was that PMHS alumna Alessandra Biaggi won her race for State Senate in District 34, capturing 76 percent of the vote.

“I am very humbled and grateful to be here today,” Biaggi said at her victory celebration. “I look around this room and I just feel an incredible sense of gratitude. I am standing right here because of every single one of you.”

Around New York, the Democrats managed to sweep elections. Andrew Cuomo handily beat challenger Marc Molinaro by a thirteen-point margin of victory. In the fight for the U.S. Senate seat, incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, retained her seat, steamrolling over her opponent, investment banker Chele Chiavacci Farley, beating her at the polls by nearly 32 percentage points. Two African American women made history in New York on election night. Letitia James had a trio of firsts, becoming the first woman in New York to be elected as attorney general, the first African-American woman to be elected to statewide office, and the first black person to serve as attorney general. Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins won her re-election and she is poised to become the majority leader, making her the first woman to lead either legislative chamber in New York, and the first African American woman to lead the State Senate.