Ken Jenkins' landslide win in Westchester County executive special election has Democrats nationwide celebrating
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Democrat Ken Jenkins was the landslide winner of a special election for Westchester County executive on Tuesday.
Jenkins took 64% of the vote against Republican Christine Sculti, who was endorsed by President Trump, in a victory Democrats nationwide see as a cause for celebration.
Some Dems see Jenkins' win as early referendum on Trump
His name will stay on the office door at least for the rest of the year. Jenkins' crushed Sculti, a day after Mr. Trump urged Westchester residents to "Vote Republican" in the special election to replace George Latimer.
On social media, Democrats celebrated what some portrayed as an early suburban referendum on the president and his agenda.
"It was an opportunity for people to be energized, the very first election since President Trump was inaugurated for us in New York to have our voices heard," Jenkins said. "I think there was a lot of pent-up energy to say let's see something positive happen."
He said his early priorities are getting Westchester a fair share of the upcoming state budget and reopening Playland Park in May, after a private firm suddenly canceled its management contract.
Jenkins has now been elected to the office he first sought in 2013 and in November he'll be back on the campaign trail, seeking a full four-year term.
"You can't take a meat cleaver to things"
Supporters say Jenkins brings steady, results-focused leadership that is not overly partisan. CBS News New York's Tony Aiello asked him if there's some value to the flurry of executive orders and aggressive challenges to the status quo Mr. Trump has brought to Washington D.C.
"So the Westchester budget is $2.5 billion, you've got 4,200 employees, do you need an Elon Musk-DOGE effort to come whipping through Westchester with a meat cleaver?" Aiello asked.
"There's all kinds of work that can be done to say, are we doing this as well as we can? But you can't take a meat cleaver to things. That's not making a difference. Just causing chaos and confusion," Jenkins said.
