Michael Korchak declared winner in Broome County District Attorney race

Michael Korchak was declared the winner of the Broome County District Attorney race Tuesday. Absentee ballot counts Tuesday placed the Libertarian candidate 46 votes ahead of Republican Paul Battisti.

The announcement, which ended a hotly contested race, followed a grueling eight-hour count of some 1,560 absentee ballots at the Broome County Board of Elections. In addition, some 400 affidavit ballots had to be tallied.

Battisti, in a statement late Tuesday, said he's not conceding the race.

Korchak, who currently serves as the assistant chief district attorney, became visibly emotional at times and huddled among supporters as the absentee ballots were counted. He thanked his supporters for their work throughout the campaign after a final count was announced.

UPDATE: Now that Paul Battisti wants a recount, here's what happens next

"We knew it was going to be a tight race and come down to the absentees, and it came down to the final absentees, actually, as well as the affidavit votes" Korchak told reporters after receiving cheers from supporters at the Broome elections office.

"I am very, very happy to continue to serve the people of Broome County as a prosecutor, it's what I always wanted to do," Korchak said. "I will not disappoint the voters of Broome County, I will be the best DA they ever had."

Battisti pointed to the Tuesday night unofficial count of 46 separating he and Korchak out of about 43,000 ballots cast as grounds for not conceding.

"Considering all of the changes to the election process, including but not limited to the first-ever opportunity for early voting and the first-ever use of electronic poll books at polling sites, I'm asking for the Broome County Board of Elections to conduct a full handcount and review of every ballot cast in this election to ensure and true and accurate result," Battisti said in a statement late Tuesday.

Battisti, a Binghamton defense attorney largely backed by the Republican establishment including state Sen. Fred Akshar, R-Binghamton, and Broome County Sheriff David Harder, won the critical first round by beating Korchak's attempt to win the GOP nomination in June's primary.

Following the primary loss, Korchak announced his continued campaign on the Libertarian party line.

The initial count of absentee ballots Tuesday when Korchak was announced as the winner had him ahead by 112 votes, though approximately 104 previously challenged ballots remained to be counted. Elections Commissioner Mark Smith said late Tuesday the subsequent counting put Korchak ahead by 46 votes.

Gelson, who also spent most of Tuesday watching the absentee ballot count at the elections office, said afterward, "I am thrilled that Mr. Korchak won, because if I wasn't going to win, it's imperative to have someone with experience. I think he will be an excellent District Attorney."

Election Night returns Nov. 5 placed Korchak with 14,882 votes, or 36.7% of the total, while Battisti had 14,760 votes, or 36.4%, with all precincts reporting. Democratic candidate Debra Gelson had 10,863 votes, or about 27%.

Korchak spent six years as a prosecutor in Bronx County before becoming a prosecutor in Broome County in 1996. He left the DA's office in 2007 after challenging former DA Gerald Mollen, then returned to the office in 2016. He's also a former Town of Union justice.

In the too-close-to-call Broome County DA race between Mike Korchak and Paul Battisti, it’s down to absentee ballots: This morning, the envelopes are being opened at the Board of Elections🇺🇸

Follow @PSBABorrelli @pressconnects for results pic.twitter.com/OjSe9wTwVI — Kate Collins📸 (@kcollins213) November 19, 2019

The winner of the DA race replaces District Attorney Steve Cornwell, the one-term Republican who is now seeking the Republican nomination for the House of Representative seat in the 22nd Congressional district set to be contested next November, seeking to unseat first-term U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi, a Democrat.

The salary for District Attorney is $183,350 and it's a four-year term.

Broome County District Attorney race: What the candidates say about the issues

Follow Anthony Borrelli on Twitter @PSBABorrelli. Support our journalism and become a digital subscriber today. Click here for our special offers.