The short version
- Every incumbent on a City of Watertown ballot won. Results are unofficial until the counties and the state certify them.
- The ideas that lost are off the table for now: no state income tax on the first $50,000, halving utility bills, and Medicare for All will not move in the next two years.
- What to watch first: the governor's budget in January, and in Congress the 2027 defense bill, which matters for Fort Drum.
Before the vote we laid out who was running and what each one proposed (5-minute version, full guide). Here is who won, and a checklist to hold them to: what they promised, what it takes for it to happen, and when you will be able to tell.
The results
| Race | Winner | Unofficial result | Defeated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Kathy Hochul (D) and Lt. Gov. Adrienne Adams | about 60% to 40% | Bruce Blakeman (R) |
| Congress, District 24 | Claudia Tenney (R), 5th term | about 60% to 40% | Alissa Ellman (D) |
| State Senate, District 49 | Mark Walczyk (R) | about 69% to 31% | Cassie Robbins-Forbus (D) |
| Comptroller | Thomas DiNapoli (D) | about 64% to 35% | Joseph Hernandez (R) |
| Attorney General | Letitia James (D), 3rd term | about 60% to 40% | Saritha Komatireddy (R) |
| State Supreme Court, 5th District | Not yet reported district-wide | as of Nov. 6 | Joseph Zavaglia (D) vs. Michael Manfredi (R) |
| Assembly 116, Sheriff, County Legislature 12-15 | Scott Gray, Peter Barnett, Frances Calarco, Steel Potter, Corey Grant, Anthony Doldo | unopposed | nobody |
Rounded shares from AP calls and news reports, Nov. 4-5: Gothamist: Hochul re-elected · WWNY: Tenney declares victory over Ellman · NCPR: Walczyk wins reelection in the 49th · NY1: James, DiNapoli win reelection · NYS Board of Elections unofficial results. Final totals will move a little as absentee and military ballots are counted.
Governor: Kathy Hochul
A second full term. Most of what she ran on is already law, so most of what to expect is that law continuing, plus a few promises still to come.
What stays in place
Taxes
The 2025 middle-class rate cut, the child credit of up to $1,000 per child under 4, and no state tax on up to $25,000 of tips (2026). She pledged not to raise income taxes.
Utility bills
The one-time POWER rebates are already paid. New rules for rate cases: utilities must file a lower-cost option, and they can't bill customers for lobbying. National Grid's next case is 2028.
Promises still to come
New nuclear upstate
At least 1 gigawatt through NYPA. Developers were asked for bids in June 2026. No site or cost yet, and power would come in the late 2030s at the earliest.
Child care
Pre-K for every 4-year-old by the 2028-29 school year is already budgeted. Universal child care is a goal with no full cost or date.
Car insurance
She says the reforms signed this year should cut premiums about 10%. That is her claim, and your renewal notice will show whether it holds.
Data centers
The pause on large data centers continues during a state review. She wants to end their sales-tax break.
The catch: nobody has published a full price for universal child care. Watch whether the January budget includes one.
What's off the table
Gone with Blakeman
No state income tax on the first $50,000 ($100,000 for couples), a 10% property-tax cut, halving utility bills, ending the fracking ban, lifting the data-center pause.
When to check
The governor's State of the State and budget proposal come in January. The budget is due April 1.
Congress, District 24: Claudia Tenney
A fifth term. Nationally, Democrats won control of the House, so from January she serves in the minority. Bills from the minority party pass less often, but defense bills and local projects usually still pass with both parties' votes.
What she ran on
Energy
More oil and natural gas production, plus support for nuclear and hydropower.
Health care
Opposes Medicare for All. Says she will protect Social Security and Medicare. She voted for the 2025 budget law, and its Medicaid work rules start in January 2027: adults 19 to 64 on Medicaid must show about 80 hours a month of work or qualify for an exemption.
Other
Border security, her 2026 Second Amendment plan, and countering China's influence. Her bill on taxes for American hostages (H.R. 9496) passed both chambers and is waiting to be signed.
Fort Drum: what to watch
2027 defense bill
It stalled until after the election. Look for Fort Drum construction items, and for who requested them: the three 2026 design projects her office cited ($20.3M) were requested by the state's two senators.
Also coming
The Army's microreactor at Fort Drum, and staffing levels. Soldier numbers are down about 26% since 2013, and 36% of Jefferson County wage earners have jobs tied to the post.
The catch: more detail in our Fort Drum piece.
State Senate, District 49: Mark Walczyk
What to expect
Utility bills
His bills to remove the System Benefits Charge (about $1.79 a month on a typical home bill) and to require a cost-to-ratepayers estimate on energy bills were both voted down in committee in 2026. Watch whether he refiles them in January.
Local bills
Most of his 28 signed bills were local. One to watch: Jefferson County's extra sales tax expires Nov. 30, 2027 and needs his renewal bill in the 2027 session.
Also
More hydropower and nuclear, possibly in the district. A bill to repay counties for holding people convicted of felonies (S8448).
The catch: he remains in the Senate's minority party, where his statewide bills have stalled. His local bills have passed.
Comptroller and Attorney General
Thomas DiNapoli, Comptroller
What continues
Audits of state agencies and local governments. His office audited the City of Watertown in 2023 and Jefferson County's development agency in 2020; a 2024 follow-up found only one of five fixes fully done.
Pension fund
About $310 billion, with a plan to reach net-zero emissions in its investments by 2040. Hernandez's $10 billion in-state investment fund will not happen.
Letitia James, Attorney General
Consumer protection
Enforcing the FAIR Business Practices Act, which since February covers "unfair" and "abusive" practices and applies to small businesses too. More cases against predatory lenders and debt collectors.
Also
Nursing-home investigations, gun buybacks, and lawsuits against the federal government. One open issue: federal inspectors suspended funding for her Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in July 2026 over low results, and an October letter noted improvement.
The catch: Komatireddy's Office of Civil Commitment and treatment centers will not happen.
Unopposed, and the judge's race
What to expect
Assemblyman Scott Gray
His 2026 bills on advanced nuclear workforce training and utility rate transparency are still in committee. He supports Project Janus at Fort Drum.
Sheriff Peter Barnett
A new term from January. The jail's food service moved to an outside contractor in July (3 years, about $711,000 a year).
County legislators
Calarco, Potter, Grant and Doldo continue. The 2027 county budget is the next big vote.
State Supreme Court
No district-wide count was reported as of Nov. 6. We will add the winner here once it is.
For your wallet, whoever you voted for
- Health premiums: 2027 increases are already approved: 8% on average for small-group plans, 6% for individual plans.
- Medicaid: the work rules start in January 2027. If you or your employees are on Medicaid, get hours documentation ready.
- Taxes: no new state income-tax cut is coming. The cuts already in law stay.
- Electric bills: no big change before National Grid's 2028 rate case, unless the Legislature acts on bill charges.
Owners: the checklist in our business owner's brief still applies.
WBA does not endorse candidates. This is a plain-English follow-up to our ballot series; every promise and record above is sourced in the full guide. We will check back on these promises at the next budget and the next election.