Jumaane Williams

2009: City Council, 45th District (won)

Williams was first elected to the New York City Council in 2009, representing Brooklyn's 45th District (Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, Midwood, and Canarsie) 1. He won the general election with Working Families Party support, beginning a relationship with the party that would span his entire career 1,2. He took office on January 1, 2010, succeeding Kendall Stewart.

2013: City Council re-election (won)

Williams was re-elected to the council in 2013, the same year his signature Community Safety Act passed over Mayor Michael Bloomberg's veto 1. He won comfortably in his safely Democratic Brooklyn district.

2017: City Council re-election (won)

Williams won a third council term in 2017, again without serious difficulty in his home district 1. By this point, he had built a citywide profile through his activism and was preparing for a statewide run.

2018: Lieutenant Governor primary (lost)

In 2018, Williams ran for lieutenant governor, challenging incumbent Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary 3. He ran in tandem with Cynthia Nixon's insurgent gubernatorial challenge to Andrew Cuomo, positioning himself as an independent progressive who would use the office to check the governor rather than serve as a loyal deputy.

Hochul defeated Williams in the September 13, 2018, primary by roughly 6.8 percentage points 4. Despite the loss, Williams won his home borough of Brooklyn and also carried Manhattan, a strong enough showing to establish him as a credible statewide progressive and to set up a future rematch 5.

February 2019: Public Advocate special election (won)

When Letitia James resigned as Public Advocate to become New York Attorney General, a nonpartisan special election was held on February 26, 2019. Williams won a crowded field of 17 candidates with about 33 percent of the vote 5,6. The runners-up were Queens Republican Council Member Eric Ulrich in second place and former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito in third 6. Williams was sworn in on March 19, 2019.

November 2019: Public Advocate general election (won)

Williams won the November 2019 general election to serve the remainder of James's term, consolidating his hold on the office 7.

2021: Public Advocate re-election (won)

On November 2, 2021, Williams won re-election to his first full term as Public Advocate, defeating Republican Devi Nampiaparampil and minor-party candidates Anthony Herbert and Devin Balkind 8. The Associated Press called the race for him shortly after polls closed, reflecting the safely Democratic citywide electorate 9. Even as he won, Williams was already signaling interest in a second statewide campaign.

2022: Governor primary (lost)

Williams formed a gubernatorial exploratory committee in September 2021 and formally launched his campaign on November 16, 2021, setting up a rematch with Hochul, who had become governor in August 2021 after Cuomo's resignation 10,11.

Running to Hochul's left with running mate Ana Maria Archila, Williams campaigned on Good Cause eviction, the New York Health Act, and an ambitious climate and tax-the-wealthy agenda 12. He secured the Working Families Party endorsement in February 2022 and the WFP ballot line 13. His coalition included Comptroller Brad Lander, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Make the Road New York Action, Sunrise Movement NYC, and Our Revolution 12.

The fundamentals were difficult from the start. Polling consistently showed Hochul with a 30-plus point lead, and Williams raised more than $3 million, a fraction of Hochul's war chest 13. In the June 28, 2022, Democratic primary, Hochul won decisively. Per the state Board of Elections returns, Hochul took approximately 66.5 percent, Williams finished second with about 19 percent (164,409 votes), and Representative Tom Suozzi finished third with about 12.8 percent 14,15.

Williams won the Working Families Party primary line, which had been uncontested, but the question of whether he would remain on the WFP line in November (potentially splitting the Democratic vote and aiding Republican Lee Zeldin) was resolved when the WFP backed Hochul for the general election after she won the Democratic primary 16.

2025 to 2026: Public Advocate third term (won)

Williams ran for and won a third term as Public Advocate, and was sworn in on January 1, 2026, at the inauguration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani 17. His emotional swearing-in speech drew significant attention. The 2025 campaign cycle was complicated by the May 2025 foreclosure controversy over his Brooklyn rental property, covered in the controversies section of this series, but it did not prevent his re-election 18.

Electoral pattern and analysis

Williams's electoral record reveals a clear pattern: dominant in citywide and district races where the electorate skews Democratic and progressive, but unable to win statewide Democratic primaries against a better-funded establishment candidate with a broad geographic reach.

Analysts attributed his statewide losses to the difficulty of expanding beyond his downstate progressive base. Political consultant Bruce Gyory noted during the 2022 race that Williams would need to "build bridges beyond his ideological base" and consolidate the Black vote to be competitive, a coalition he was unable to assemble against Hochul, who led him among Black Democrats in pre-primary polling 16.

The throughline is that Williams's brand, the activist-elected official willing to be arrested for causes, resonates powerfully in progressive New York City but has not translated into the broader statewide coalition needed to win a Democratic gubernatorial primary. Whether he attempts statewide office again, particularly in a New York political landscape reshaped by Mamdani's mayoral victory, remains an open question.

Summary of electoral results

2009 City Council (45th District): won.

2013 City Council: won (re-election).

2017 City Council: won (re-election).

2018 Lieutenant Governor Democratic primary: lost to Hochul by ~6.8 points.

February 2019 Public Advocate special election: won (~33% of 17 candidates).

November 2019 Public Advocate general: won.

2021 Public Advocate: won (re-election).

2022 Governor Democratic primary: lost to Hochul (~66.5% to ~19%).

2025 Public Advocate: won (third term, sworn in January 1, 2026).