Early Voting for West Side Senate Seat Runs Through Feb. 1
Early voting was scheduled to start Jan. 25 but an impending winter storm prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to postpone its start. It resumed on Monday, Jan. 26 and runs through Sunday. Feb. 1.The special election is slated for Feb. 3.
Chelsea /
| 23 Jan 2026 | 10:02
The start of early voting in the special election for the New York State Senate on the West Side, which was slated to start on Sunday, Jan. 25, has been postponed by Gov. Hochul due to the impending winter storm.
The special election for the New York State Senate seat on the West Side of Manhattan in District 47 which pits Democrat Erik Bottcher against Republican Charlotte Friedman runs through Feb. 1.
The district includes Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen as well as parts of Greenwich Village and part of the UWS up to W. 113th St.
Early voting was postponed on Jan. 25 due to the storm that walloped New York but resumed on Monday, Jan. 26 as the city dug out even as it experiences a prolonged deep freeze. Another storm is set to hit the city this weekend.
Bottcher, the incumbent city council member from the West side of Manhattan, has picked up a slew of endorsements from other leading Dems in his run for NYS Senate including Congressman Jerry Nadler, comptroller Mark Levine, City Council speaker Julie Menin, Democratic majority leader in the city council Shaun Abreu and upper west side assembly member Micha Lasher. Bottcher, who is gay is running with strong support from the LBGTQ+ community and is running on a platform stressing affordability, addressing mental health crisis, environmentalism and defense of democracy.
Republican challenger Charlotte Friedman has never held elected office but is running on a platform of law and order and enforcement of immigration laws, fighting antisemitism and fighting socialism.