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Rep. Nydia Velazquez Soundly Defeats Two Challengers in Primary Race

By  Leslie Albrecht and Nikhita Venugopal | June 29, 2016 8:30am 

 Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez speaks at a press conference in Red Hook in October 2014.
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez speaks at a press conference in Red Hook in October 2014.
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DNAinfo/Nikhita Venugopal

RED HOOK — U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez on Tuesday brushed off her challengers Yungman Lee and Jeff Kurzon in the Democratic primary in New York's 7th Congressional District.

Velázquez, a longtime incumbent, secured her slot on the general election ballot with 61.53 percent of the vote, or 9,565 votes, according to the New York State Board of Elections' unofficial results with all districts reporting.

Lee, a Chinatown banking executive, garnered 27.67 percent of the vote, or 4,302 votes, and Kurzon, a lawyer and self-proclaimed “Berniecrat," won 10.12 percent, or 1,573 votes.

Velázquez, who was first elected to Congress in 1992, will face Republican Allan Romaguera in the Nov. 8, 2016, general election.

She was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The 7th Congressional District includes parts of Park Slope, Gowanus, Sunset Park, Red Hook, Bushwick, Williamsburg, Maspeth, Ridgewood, Ozone Park, the Lower East Side and Chinatown.