Although the City Council is reliably left-leaning, a handful of competitive Council races in this election have tested Republicans’ sway in pockets of the five boroughs.

After a citywide shift to the right in last year’s presidential election, Democrat Zohran Mamdani, now the mayor-elect, energized progressive voters this year.

Benjamin Chou, a moderate Democrat, was hoping to unseat Vickie Paladino, one of the Council’s few Republicans and a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, in Council District 19 in Northeast Queens.

But Paladino defended her seat Tuesday evening with more than 57% of the district’s votes, the Associated Press reported.

Some political observers have been watching the race to see whether one of the city’s few MAGA Republicans could maintain a foothold here

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