(Photo: Getty)

No surprises here. President Barack Obama and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand both emerged victorious in New York State tonight.

Although countless voters remain in line at New York City precincts, which are required to remain open for all voters who showed up before 9 p.m., the Empire State's overall preference for Democrats was still enough to overwhelm any ambiguity as to the ultimate victor.

Ms. Gillibrand, who dominated in pre-election polling and had a mammoth campaign war chest, was not expected to face a serious threat today. Her opponent, Republican attorney Wendy Long, waged an aggressive and energetic campaign, but, thanks to a lack in resources, never quite caught on. This victory will be Ms. Gillibrand's second in four years. In 2010, she won the 2-year remainder of then-Senator Hillary Clinton's term after the incumbent left to join the Obama administration.

Attention now will be paid to the downballot races, especially for the U.S. House where the redistricting process left an unusually large swath of competitive campaigns. In the New York City metropolitan area, these include the races of Long Island's Democratic incumbent, Tim Bishop, and GOP Representatives Michael Grimm and Nan Hayworth in Staten Island and the Hudson Valley respectively. Control of the New York State Senate could also potentially be in the air if Democratic candidates overperform expectations in a number of key races as well.

Nationwide, the Democratic Party has done well in U.S. Senate races so far. Connecticut's Chris Murphy, Massachusetts' Elizabeth Warren, Pennsylvania's Bob Casey and Florida's Bill Nelson have all been projected to win. In Indiana, Democrat Joe Donelly is currently leading Richard Mourdock, and, in Maine, Independent Angus King, who's expected to side with the Democrats, is the projected winner.

Voting in Crown Heights (Photo: @sarahljaffe)

"We have some other type of crisis here, partially organized by Hurricane Sandy, partially organized by the Board of Elections," Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny told Politicker this morning, ticking off poll sites that did not receive machines until 8:04 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. respectively, over an hour after they were scheduled to open. "My question is, if they knew, if the Board of Elections knew yesterday this was the poll site that would be assigned today, were they sleeping this morning? It disenfranchises many people."

We asked if there might be a possibility of a re-do election.

"That is a possibility, I think," he answered, noting all of the Hurricane Sandy-induced chaos was in the Democratic parts of his district. "I have two parts of the district. Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, which is conservative, and Coney Island and Sea Gate, which is much more liberal, and I'm a Democrat....This is all becoming totally ridiculous. This is not about me, of course. This is about 40,000 voters losing the right to vote."

But the problems extend far beyond Hurricane Sandy's path of devastation. Wendy Long, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, sent out a press release describing her woes while voting in Manhattan.

"This morning when I went to vote, a poll worker who was at the scanner, studied my private ballot and proceeded to tell me that it was rejected because I did not 'fill in every space,'" she said in a statement. "She then proceeded to indicate that I should mark the Democratic line all the way down. The poll worker said, 'you have to fill in all of THESE, all the way down," indicating the whole line at the far left of the ballot, saying 'you can't leave any blank.'"

Additionally, Councilman Jumaane Williams, who represents a neighborhood in Central Brooklyn, described even more chaos on his Twitter page:

Extremely concerned @boenyc at least 3 polls didn't open time. Got word another has machines not working. Can't imagine hard hit areas!

— Jumaane D. Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) November 6, 2012

Never received so many problems so early from so many places. PS 152 88 year old just left w/voting. @boenyc

— Jumaane D. Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) November 6, 2012

I overheard a #pollworker tell #voters to vote all #Democrat or all #Republican! Sigghhh... @boenyc. Training is also important.

— Jumaane D. Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) November 6, 2012

Help/media needed @ny1 @ny1desk @courtneycgross @boenyc massive confusion at Vanderveer Methodist Glenwood/Nostrand Ave twitter.com/JumaaneWilliam…

— Jumaane D. Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) November 6, 2012

From anecdotes and reports elsewhere across the city:

No working scanners here at Penn South. RT @rueby: RT @michaelpaulson: We are hearing multiple reports of failed ballot scanners around NYC.

— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) November 6, 2012

MS 51 poll-site is worst we've ever seen. Just sent @commoncauseny & NYPD 78th Pct over to try to maintain calm and take complaints @boenyc

— Brad Lander (@bradlander) November 6, 2012

2 out of 3 scanners jammed. No one knew how to fix them. 2 voters walked in and knew what to do. Scanners fixed. — Justin Brannan (@JustinBrannan) November 6, 2012

Confusion at a Park Slope polling site via @erik_engquist mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/blogs/insider/… — Andrew J. Hawkins (@andyjayhawk) November 6, 2012

Friend in Fort Greene says organizers outside polling place were insistent he had to vote straight R or D, argument ensued — Reid Pillifant (@reidpillifant) November 6, 2012

In line an hour and line has stopped. No one knows why. Freezing. #nyvote

— Andrea Bernstein (@AndreaWNYC) November 6, 2012

Super poll site in rockaway pk is functioning albeit with challenges generators now have gas so there is more light but no heat in tents

— Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) November 6, 2012

No working scanners here at Penn South. RT @rueby: RT @michaelpaulson: We are hearing multiple reports of failed ballot scanners around NYC.

— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) November 6, 2012

There are 300 or so on line at Friends of Crown Hts daycare center. 2 of 3 scanners broken #ny1votes yfrog.com/hwj0kofj

— Errol Louis (@errollouis) November 6, 2012

Broken machines, relocated voters cause huge lines at polling stations ow.ly/f46Td @dnainfo #Election2012

— Alan Neuhauser (@alneuhauser) November 6, 2012

line at my polling location [baruch college] goes through a lobby & weaves down four flights of stairs. #whoa #ny1votes

— Rosemary Shultz (@rshultz) November 6, 2012

The voting machines on 151st Amsterdam and St. Nicholas are jammed. We have to vote on paper ballots. Hundreds of people are waiting.

— Jenisha Watts (@iamjournalism) November 6, 2012

People are leaving the polls in Harlem.

— Jenisha Watts (@iamjournalism) November 6, 2012

We have recruited & trained 36,000 poll workers. We appreciate your patience in these challenging circumstances #nycvotes #ny1votes #nyvotes

— NYCBoardOfElections (@BOENYC) November 6, 2012

Wendy Long at today's press conference.

Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Wendy Long is fed up about the federal debt and held a press conference in front of the National Debt Clock this morning to sound the alarm bells over its looming size. And, unsurprisingly, she blamed incumbent Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for the problem.

"Since she took office in January 2009 in the U.S. Senate and since Barack Obama was elected, the national debt at that point was $10.6 trillion, and it's now about to be $16 trillion," Ms. Long said. "This is unacceptable."

Of course, many other GOP pols have made similar speeches in front of the National Debt Clock, including Ms. Gillibrand's 2010 opponent, Joe DioGuardi. However, Ms. Long combined the generic criticism of spending and deficits with an interesting pledge. If she's elected, she vowed to take a 25% cut in her salary each year she fails to bring down the federal debt.

"We're here to call on Senator Gillibrand, President Obama, and all of those representing us in Washington to get this clock going in the other direction and to bring federal spending, debt and deficits under control," Ms. Long said. "I will pledge that if I'm elected, this clock will start going in the other direction. If it doesn't, I would agree to take a cut in my salary, 25% for every year that this clock goes in the wrong direction."

"I call on my opponent and I call on every elected official going back to Washington to take the same pledge, that if they can't bring the debt down and get this clock going in the other direction, that they will take a cut in their salary," she continued. "Because this is the most fundamental thing that we are paying their salaries for, to set the federal budget and to live responsibly within our means."

Another number ticking in the wrong direction for Ms. Long are her poll numbers. Earlier this month, a Siena College Institute Poll found Ms. Long distantly trailing Ms. Gillibrand 65% to 22%, a slightly larger gap than the month before. Asked when those numbers will start to turn around, Ms. Long simply told us "soon."

Today's press conference

About a week ago, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand sent an email to her supporters suggesting that she could be "outspent" in her campaign against Republican Wendy Long. This claim struck many as extremely incredulous, as she's a prodigious fundraiser who's already raised over $10 million so far, compared with a tiny fraction of that amount by Ms. Long. We asked Ms. Long about this during her press conference where she was endorsed by former Gov. George Pataki, causing her to similarly react with skepticism.

"I don't know why she's saying that. I don't think it probably has any basis in fact," Mr. Long answered. "We ran a very lean primary campaign, she has $10 million dollars."

Ms. Long then connected the claims to her continued criticism of Ms. Gillibrand using the phrase "War on Women" to describe the Republican agenda regarding reproductive rights, equal pay legislation and the like.

"I don't know why she's saying that. She's obviously trying to raise more money," she added. "It's her scare tactics, just like her phony 'War on Women' scare tactics. I think she uses these things to get people worked up and try and get more campaign money."

The fundraising gap is one of the reasons Ms. Long has a steeply uphill battle to climb, however. New York's population base is centered in an incredibly expensive media market, and in a blue state that President Obama is expected to easily carry, a Republican needs a hefty campaign war chest to get his or her message out and sway countless default Democratic voters.

Wendy Long (Photo: NY1)

Throughout Rep. Bob Turner's unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign this year, the candidate often cited his support from the Jewish community to argue for his unique general election appeal and why he was the sole candidate who could beat Kirsten Gillibrand in the fall. Mr. Turner, of course, won in upset special election last year by scoring high margins among observant Jewish voters. Yet, on the front page of Hamodia, a prominent Orthodox Jewish daily, Mr. Turner's former opponent and current Republican nominee Wendy Long saw her praises sung.

"Wendy Long was chosen by Republicans to take on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who has championed a progressive social agenda at the expense of the weakening economy," Yochonon Donn, an editor at Hamodia, wrote. "Long has promised that she has a unique experience in fighting that."

The editorial continues, "Long is a strong conservative leader with experience in judicial affairs from her time spent clerking for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and helping to shepherd President W. Bush's nomination of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito through congressional hearings."

Of course, the line about Mr. Roberts takes on new meaning today, as he was the key swing vote upholding President Barack Obama's health care insurance mandate. Ms. Long made no specific mention of Mr. Roberts in her statement on the issue today, simply stating, "I respectfully disagree that Obamacare's individual mandate is justified as a tax."

Update: For what it's worth, Ms. Long did apparently did mention Mr. Roberts on the radio this morning, saying on The Capitol Pressroom, "I fundamentally disagree with what Chief Justice Roberts did, which was to label ObamaCare a proper tax under Congress’ taxing power, it really isn’t."

Wendy Long

Shortly after Wendy Long emerged victorious in New York's three-way Republican Senate primary, the New York State Democratic Party sent out a press release entitled "Who Is Wendy Long?" showcasing the "Top 10 Things The Republican Party Hopes You Don't Know About Their Extreme Candidate For U.S. Senate." The statement described Ms. Long as wanting to end "Medicare as we know it," "beholden to the D.C. lobbyist Grover Norquist's tax pledge," proud of "her association with the racist, anti-semitic homophobic Dartmouth Review," a leading opponent of "America's first Latina justice to sit on the Supreme Court" Sonia Sotomayor, "anti-choice," an opponent of same-sex marriage and an enemy to consumers, among other things.

Co-chair of the New York State Democratic Committee Keith Wright issued an accompanying statement claiming Ms. Long is radically different from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who she will challenge in November.

"The contrast between Wendy Long’s far right, extreme ideological views with Senator Gillibrand's record of bipartisan accomplishment in the Senate fighting for New York families and the middle class couldn’t be clearer," Mr. Wright said. "The Republican nominee is a candidate who supports wasteful tax subsidies for big oil and gas companies making record profits, at the expense of tax cuts for the middle class, won't protect our nation's commitment to Social Security and Medicare, will oppose a woman's right to choose and access to birth control, and is against equal rights for all New Yorkers."

Ms. Gillibrand also issued a statement about Ms. Long winning the nomination, but it took a much more low key approach.

"Senator Gillibrand called Wendy Long to congratulate her on winning the Republican primary. Kirsten looks forward to running a strong campaign based on her record of fighting hard and delivering as a strong independent voice for New York families," the statement said.

Grace Meng declaring victory with a plethora of elected officials and press surrounding her.

After much tension and circumstance, today's primary elections for federal elections have come to a close, and there were few surprises to be found.

In each congressional race, the candidate of the conventional wisdom emerged victorious and all incumbents that sought to return to Washington D.C. next year are now set to do so -- at least in parts of heavily Democratic New York City where primary elections are the actual contest.

The list of primary champions includes Reps. Charlie Rangel, Nydia Velázquez and Yvette Clarke, with open seat contenders Hakeem Jeffries and Grace Meng added in as well.

In the U.S. Senate race, attorney Wendy Long defeated Re. Bob Turner and  Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos and will challenge Kirsten Gillibrand in the fall.

In the hotly contested race to challenge Hudson Valley Rep. Nan Hayworth, attorney Sean Patrick Maloney defeated his rivals and clinched the nomination.

Notably among the results, the much-hyped race between Councilman Charles Barron and Mr. Jeffries didn't turn out to be much of an affair after all. Mr. Jeffries absolutely dominated the vote, winning close to three quarters of the ballots.

Bob Turner (Photo: Facebook)

Political candidates generally impound ballots in elections where there is suspected voter fraud, Congressman Bob Turner's campaign says they want the ballots in today's three-way Republican Senate primary impounded just to be on the safe side of things. Mr. Turner's campaign sent out a statement this evening announcing they have ordered the ballots impounded "to ensure the integrity of every vote in what may be shaping up as the lowest turnout in New York primary history."

"The Turner campaign is committed to ensuring the integrity of every vote and impounding the ballots is the best way to achieve that for the good of all the campaigns," campaign spokeswoman Jessica Proud said. "In the meantime, we are urging as many Republicans as possible to get to the polls before 9 p.m. to support the candidate of their choice."

Ms. Proud noted "reports statewide of extremely low voter turnout" due to this year's unusually early primary date. The Turner campaign's statement mentioned no potential issues of voter fraud and did not make it clear why a low number of votes would necessitate impounding ballots. Ms. Proud did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.

"There has never before been a June federal primary in New York, and many voters are away with their school age children who were just let out for summer vacation," the statement said.

Having the ballots impounded leaves an opening for the primary candidates to potentially challenge the initial results. Mr. Turner is running against attorney Wendy Long and Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos for the chance to run against Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on the Republican ticket in November. Recent polls all showed Mr. Turner ahead of his rivals.

The three candidates last night.

The three candidates seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand debated last night and several interesting moments came up when discussing the same sex marriage New York enacted last year.

Notably, when one of the candidates, Wendy Long, faced a question as to whether she would, on principle, refuse to attend a same-sex wedding, she answered with a firm "yes."

The line of questioning appeared to move on before George Maragos could answer the question, but for his part, Bob Turner said, "I would not refuse, no."

Ms. Long's position places her further to the right of many Republicans in New York City, several of whom attended Council Speaker Christine Quinn's marriage to her longtime partner, Kim Catullo, last month.

Ms. Long, however, placed some space between her candidacy and the gay marriage issue, which she has made controversial comments on in the past.

"I can't do anything to overturn the state law," she said when asked if her campaign could be linked to efforts to overturn New York's marriage law. "My position is that marriage should be between a man and a woman. ... [But] as a federal legislator there's nothing in practical terms that I can do about it. And from a Constitutional standpoint I do respect the right of states to decide these issues for themselves."

Ms. Long is backed by the state's Conservative Party, which heavily emphasizes opposition to gay marriage, and Mr. Maragos took a shot at her over what he felt was the inconsistency between her rhetoric and the Conservatives.

"According to the Conservative Party you cannot be a true conservative if you do not advocate a repeal of the New York State law," he declared.

"I assure you that I have their full support, in fact I was nominated unanimously to be their nominee," Ms. Long shot back.

"When your opponents are fighting it's better to sit back and watch," Mr. Turner mused on the back-and-forth between his rivals. “This ship has sailed in New York. I want to keep the focus on jobs and the economy."

"Let's get on to the other issues," he added.

Now, with New York’s federal elections only a few weeks away, we take a look at each of the competitive elections on June 26, take a guess at which way the paper will go and deduce what kind of an effect it will have.

Disagree? Make it known in the comments.

U.S. Senate Republican Primary—Bob Turner vs. Wendy Long vs. George Maragos

It is no by means a certainty that The Times will endorse in the GOP Senate primary, and if they do, expect it to be a hold-you-nose-and-vote-for-the-guy-who-is-marginally-better-than-the-rest kind of endorsement. Expect something along the lines of the paper’s endorsement of Mitt Romney in the presidential primary in April, in which they mocked Mr. Romney for abandoning his moderating tendencies and slammed GOP extremism before declaring the Massachusetts governor “the best choice of the field.” For this little noticed Senate race for the right to go up against Kirsten Gillibrand, the paper is likely to go with Bob Turner, a Queens businessman-turned-congressman, who is far less strident in his social views than Wendy Long and more dynamic than George Maragos. Mr. Turner is running very much as the candidate of New York City, and hometown pride may count for something here.

How Much Will It Matter?

On its face, probably not all that much, since to most of the GOP primary electorate the paper remains a liberal rag that frequently skirts the edge of treason, but with turnout expected to be low, there remain Republicans in wealthy parts of New York City suburbs who aren’t paying much attention to the race, and will only decide who to vote for at the last moment, so a nod from the paper of record could prove decisive.

NY08—Hakeem Jeffries vs. Charles Barron

Possibly the easiest choice for the board this election cycle. Hakeem Jeffries is everything The Times says they want in a candidate: he has a record on Rockefeller reform, prison reform, stop-and-frisk reform, redistricting reform. education reform. Did we mention he went to Georgetown and practiced law for Paul, Weiss? Charles Barron, meanwhile, a former Black Panther with a history of throwing rhetorical bombs, would have been wise to not show up for his endorsement interview.

How Much Will It Matter?

In the more affluent parts of the district, Times penetration is strong, but those votes were going to likely go to Mr. Jeffries anyway. If anything, look for Mr. Barron to use the paper’s endorsement of Mr. Jeffries as further proof that he is the insurgent running against the establishment.

NY07—Nydia Velazquez vs. Erik Dilan

Nydia Velazquez is by no means a perfect pol from The Times standpoint—too slavishly devoted to organized labor and a little wobbly on Israel, but far far better than Erik Dilan, who is closely allied with Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez—a no-no from the paper’s standpoint. Plus, Ms. Velazquez has made fighting poverty a priority, as has The Times, while Mr. Dilan has been right of center in the City Council and has been less than transparent about his campaign finance filings.

How Much Will It Matter?

As these things go, it could matter quite a bit. The newly redesigned NY07 skips through some affluent neighborhoods in brownstone Brooklyn and on the east side of Manhattan where Times readership is pretty high.

NY13: Charlie Rangel vs. Adriano Espaillat vs. Clyde Williams vs. Joyce Johnson

At last, a real choice for the board. In 2010, they endorsed Joyce Johnson, a Seagram’s exec with limited political experience, but they couldn’t then endorse Charlie Rangel, whose use of rent-stabilized apartments for campaign purposes—a story that the Times uncovered—led to the longtime pol’s censure in the House. But Ms. Johnson is by no means a lock this time around, since Mr. Rangel is facing far more credible opponents. Clyde Williams, a former aide in both the Clinton and Obama White Houses, represents a new face of African-American leadership and has run a substantive campaign. Adriano Espaillat is vying to become the first Dominican in Congress, and the paper likes for minority groups to be represented by their own. And don’t discount the possibility that the board decides that the threat of losing an institution like Mr. Rangel is too grave. Mr. Espaillat’s campaign hasn’t been as policy heavy as the paper would like, but expect ethnic considerations to win out over Mr. Williams by a nose, with Mr. Rangel remaining a dark horse contender.

How Much Will It Matter?

The newly reconfigured NY13 lost the Upper West Side—which probably has the highest concentration of Times readers on the planet—and so won’t count for all that much in a new district that covers Harlem and parts of the South Bronx.

NY6: Grace Meng vs. Rory Lancman vs. Elizabeth Crowley

This is a hard one to figure, and oddly, probably depends a lot on what the Times decides to do with the Rangel race. Like Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Meng is a pathbreaking candidate, vying to be the first Asian-American from New York to serve in Congress. And the newly reconfigured district is a majority Asian. Still Rory Lancman has run a specific, policy oriented campaign, and the hard-charging Asssemblyman fits the profile of the kind of pol that The Times likes. And Ms. Meng’s ties to the Queens County Democratic Party—who have fended off accusations of throwing surrogate candidates onto the ballot to weaken Mr. Lancman—will hurt her.  If the paper goes with Mr. Espaillat in a majority Hispanic district, it likely frees the board to go with Mr. Lancman here. If not, Ms. Meng has a better shot. Elizabeth Crowley has struggled on the stump, and isn’t likely to merit serious consideration.

How Much Will It Matter?
Quite a bit in some of the more affluent neighborhoods of Queens  around Forest Hills. Mr. Lancman is counting on those voters coming home to him, so it could be devastating if the paper goes with Ms. Meng.