NY primary 2023 results: Broome County candidates on the ballot

Broome County voters nominated newcomers in both of Tuesday's primary elections: Broome County District Attorney and Vestal town board and town supervisor.

Paul Battisti clinched the Republican nomination in the race for Broome County District Attorney with about a thousand votes over incumbent DA Michael Korchak.

Battisti garnered about 55% of the vote with 4,820 ballots cast in his favor, and Korchak received just over 44% of the vote with 3,838.

Fresh faces on the Democratic party line in Vestal

A trio of new candidates calling themselves “Real Democracy 4 Vestal” secured Democratic nominations over the incumbent town supervisor and an incumbent council member.

Maria Sexton, a retired New York Police Department sergeant and former social studies teacher, won the Democratic nomination for town supervisor over incumbent John Schaffer, with nearly 70% of the vote and 683 ballots cast in her favor over his 30% of the vote and 297 ballots. Schaffer is running on both Democrat and Conservative party lines.

Glenn Miller, a retired data analyst from Arizona, and Robert Greene, a retired Army sergeant and software engineer for BAE systems, both earned the top spots in the race for town council member against incumbent Patty Fitzgerald.

Miller garnered 38.13% of the vote with 655 ballots cast in his favor and Greene earned 36.73% of the vote with 631 ballots. Fitzgerald received 24.51% of the vote with 421 ballots.

Republican newcomers Theodore Wolf and Patrick McPherson are running for supervisor and council member, respectively.

Korchak, Battisti face off in primary rematch

Following a six-year stint with the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, Korchak served as assistant district attorney under Gerald Mollen from 1996 to 2007. He left public office for private practice after unsuccessfully challenging Mollen for the top prosecutor spot in 2007. Korchak served as Union Town Justice from 2014 to 2016 before returning to the DA’s office to work as chief assistant prosecutor under his predecessor, Stephen Cornwell.

Korchak lost the 2019 Republican primary to Battisti, but narrowly defeated him in the general election as a Libertarian candidate.

Battisti has worked as a private-practice defense lawyer representing criminal defendants in the state and federal court levels. The Broome County native has also worked as a board member on the Broome Drug Treatment Court Team and is a former president of the Broome County Bar Association.

The two have recently been at odds over the question of how cases have been dismissed by prosecutors in recent years. Battisti has claimed the current office has failed in its handling of cases, citing state documents indicating more than 7,000 being dismissed. Korchak later called Battisti’s comments “irresponsible” and pointed to a felony conviction rate more than double the state average.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Primary Election Day 2023 in Binghamton, Broome County: What to know