As part of a Democratic sweep, Al Stirpe will return for a second term as 121st District Assemblyman.
After the results came in Tuesday night, Stirpe thanked his supporters as Democrats celebrated at a gathering in Liverpool.
“We’re going to party a little tonight!” Stirpe told the cheering crowd.
Stirpe defeated first-time Republican candidate and former LaFayette Town Councilman David Knapp. With 100 percent of the polls reporting, the unofficial vote reported by The Post-Standard showed Stirpe with 59 percent — or 34,017 votes — to Knapp’s 41 percent — or 23,546.
The 121st District includes the towns of Cicero, Clay, LaFayette, Manlius, and Pompey.
Stirpe said it’s been a “rough campaign” and thanked his supporters for going door to door and handing out flyers.
The 121st is typically characterized as a Republican district. Stirpe is at a slight disadvantage with voter registration. The 121st has 28,000 registered Democrats versus 33,000 Republicans.
But Stirpe had an overwhelming advantage in campaign fundraising with more than $450,000 raised since October of 2007. This compares to David Knapp’s total fundraising of about $75,000.
At the polls earlier on Tuesday, some voters made clear that Stirpe had an advantage as the incumbent.
Janice Fanter of Manlius, voted for Stirpe. “I just kind of bumped into him several times,” she said.
In an earlier interview with Democracywise, Democratic Committee chairperson Diane Dwire expressed confidence that his constituents would elect him for another term.
“As in his previous campaign, and this one, he’s knocking on doors and getting to know the people,” Dwire said before the election. “Once you know the candidate as an individual, you tend to vote for the individual and not along party lines.”
(Stacy Lange is a junior in broadcast journalism. Democracywise reporter Ed Jacovino contributed to this story.)
-30-
