The only New York City councilmember to represent a portion of Brooklyn, Inna Vernikov, beat her primary challenger, Ari Kagan, in the GOP primary Tuesday night.
Vernikov’s race was called after she led 66% to Kagan’s, a former councilman, 33% with 90% of the vote counted. She represents the council’s 48th District in southern Brooklyn and is one of only six Republicans on the 51-member council.
On Wednesday morning, Vernikov celebrated her win and cautioned against Zohran Mamdani’s likely tenure as mayor after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) conceded the Democratic nomination to the socialist on Tuesday night.
“Tonight, I am beyond grateful to The People of the 48th for giving me an opportunity to lead this district for another four years,” she wrote in a post on X. “I vow to continue standing up for you and your families every single day. But while we are overjoyed, the news of a potential Mayor Mamdani should be of deep concern to EVERYONE in our city. I am as ready and resolute as ever to fight the dangerous policies ANYONE attempts to impose on our communities, and I am as committed as ever to taking that fight straight to City Hall.”
Tonight, I am beyond grateful to The People of the 48th for giving me an opportunity to lead this district for another four years. I vow to continue standing up for you and your families every single day. But while we are overjoyed, the news of a potential Mayor Mamdani should be… pic.twitter.com/xcrpDnqA80
— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) June 25, 2025
Kagan, who represented the 47th District from 2022 to 2024, conceded on Wednesday morning.
“Though I did not win yesterday, I am very proud of my campaign, my family, and my supporters,” he said in a statement. “I knocked more than 4,000 doors, talked to thousands of people, and received hundreds of donations from Southern Brooklyn.”
“I am 58, healthy and strong, have a beautiful family, good job, plenty of loyal, amazing friends,” he continued before congratulating Vernikov.
Kagan previously launched his campaign because he believed Vernikov would run for state Senate. Instead, Vernikov decided to stay for reelection, setting up one of the more competitive GOP primaries in the city.
Kagan called Vernikov an “absentee councilperson” as Donald Trump Jr. weighed in to endorse Vernikov in the race. Trump Jr. called Kagan a “hack and fake Republican.”
CUOMO CONCEDES NYC MAYORAL PRIMARY TO MAMDANI IN GOLIATH UPSET FOR SOCIALIST OVER EX-GOVERNOR
Vernikov previously criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for congratulating Mamdani on his mayoral primary victory.
“If you have no onions to call out the fact that New York City, as we know it, may be on the brink of collapse, and that a mass exodus of Jews is inevitable, maybe sit this one out? You have long ago sold out our communities for self-preservation. Thanks for the extra receipts,” she said in a post on X.