In an apparent historic flip in power for the Monroe County Legislature, the Democratic Party has taken over the majority of the legislature by one seat, according to unofficial election results.
Right now, Republicans have 15 seats and Democrats have 14.
In January it will flip, meaning Democrats will have control of the legislature for the first time in three decades.
This comes after roughly 7,500 absentee ballots were counted Monday.
After those ballots were counted, it also appeared Republican Rory Fitzpatrick defeated Democrat Joseph Morelle, Jr. for Irondequoit town supervisor.
The race of Monroe County Court Judge Doug Randall will likely require a hand count, as the vote is within a half percentage.
Those results still need to be certified by the state Board of Elections.
Monroe County Democratic Committee Chairman Zach King released a statement Monday night on the unofficial election results: "While there are still votes to be counted—and we believe that every vote should be counted—unofficial tallies of the affidavit and absentee ballots from the November 2 election put Democratic legislative candidates within the margin of victory to take a 15-14 majority in the Monroe County Legislature. I want to congratulate Michael Yudelson in LD13, Dave Long in LD16, and Minority Leader Yversha Roman in LD26—whose races were decided by today’s counts—and all our legislative candidates for their victories in some very hard-fought races. “This is a historic—albeit still unofficial—day in Monroe County: it’s the first time Democrats have held a majority in the Monroe County Legislature in 30 years. In the eye of a Republican hurricane across our state and country, Monroe County Democrats held their ground and gained more. "But this is about more than Democrats having control: this is about voters choosing Legislators who are willing and ready to work with County Executive Adam Bello to tackle the very pressing issues our community faces: helping families and businesses recover from the pandemic; making much-needed investments in infrastructure; addressing challenges in public safety and mental health; and keeping our schools safe and open. “There are other races we had our eye on that also deserve mention. Congratulations to Chuck Steinman who will become the first-ever Democratic Town Justice in the Town of Perinton; Stephanie Townsend who retained her seat on the Pittsford Town Council; incumbent Rush Town Supervisor Gerry Kusse and incoming Town Councilmembers Jeanne Morelli and Daniel Chase for their sweep of Rush town government; and Judge Doug Randall who retained his seat as Monroe County’s most experienced County Court Judge, as well as Caroline Edwards-Morrison being elected to the bench. “Again, these results are unofficial and do not include the hand counts that will take place this week. However, I do not anticipate they will change the course of any of these races based on the number of ballots remaining.”