President Trump tries to influence Tuesday's special election for Westchester County executive
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Westchester County held a special election Tuesday to pick a leader, a decision that was likely to be influenced in one way or another by President Trump.
The County Legislature named Democrat Ken Jenkins county executive in January, after George Latimer left the post to serve in Congress. Jenkins asked voters to ratify that and allow him to serve the rest of Latimer's term, which runs until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Republican Christine Sculti was hoping to pull off an upset.
While the numbers are not yet official, early results posted on the Westchester County government website give Jenkins 64% of the vote, with 57,590 votes cast. Sculti finished with 36%, receiving 32,956 votes.
Because it was a cold Tuesday in mid-February, turnout was expected to be light.
The Trump factor
The race was a low-profile campaign, until Mr. Trump got involved at the last minute. He issued a social media post slamming Westchester as a "sanctuary county" that protects migrants with criminal records, and urged those heading to the polls to "vote Republican."
Sculti said she thought the president's post was a boost, given Trump's improved vote total in Westchester last November.
"He overperformed in Westchester by 10 points, and we have tremendous momentum from President Trump's achievements and I was very grateful that he weighed in and is encouraging people to go vote," Sculti said.
Jenkins sees president's involvement as motivator for Dems
Jenkins, the first African-American to lead a suburban New York City county, said the GOP is stoking fear by calling Westchester a sanctuary county. A 2018 law outlines the rights of foreign nationals and puts limited restrictions on how police interact with immigration enforcement.
As for the president's last-minute involvement, Jenkins said, "That wakes up a bunch of folks that may have been taking things for granted. We never were. Don't take any election for granted. But, again, that helps our folks to make sure they're energized and vote."
