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A Republican judge has been elected in Brooklyn for the first time in more than a century, party leaders said — calling the winner the “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer” in a Democratic blizzard.
Etan C. Harris appeared to have defeated Democrat Susan Lieberman to become District 8th Municipal Court District Civil Court Judge Tuesday after taking home 50.91% of the vote, according to unofficial tallies.
The win — by a roughly 2% margin — would mark the first time a Republican has defeated a Democrat in the district in 105 years, according to GOP leaders.
“We’re projected to win. I hope we will!” Harris said at his watch party Tuesday evening.
“It’s my first race. What do I know? I know law! I don’t know elections.”
Harris has not yet officially claimed victory in the race, but the Kings County Republican Party is celebrating the race as a “historic win.”
Previous Republican judges in the borough were elected in recent decades, but appeared on both GOP and Democratic Party lines, records indicate.
Harris ran only on Republican and Conservative lines.
The victory is extra historic considering nearly every other GOP incumbent in the borough lost their Assembly and Senate seats in a blue massacre.
“He made history,” said Liam McCabe, chairman of the Kings County Republican Party.
“Even in a Democratic blizzard, we had this Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer flying through the storm and, you know, will only be that much stronger next time around.”
Harris won the race through “good, old-fashioned campaigning,” his manager David Storobin said.
The Sheepshead Bay resident and 16-year civil litigation attorney campaigned as the “law and order candidate” — promising “committed to fairness, efficiency, and delivering justice for the people of Southern Brooklyn.”
The win proves that a Democratic endorsement does not automatically equal a win when it comes to judgeship in the borough, he claimed.
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“Ethan is an extremely hard-working person. And I believe he’ll make a good judge precisely because of that — To run against that Democratic machine and win shows what a great candidate he was,” said Storobin.
Harris was the only candidate in any race in Brooklyn that was backed, supported and endorsed by Republican City Councilmember Inna Vernikov, her office said.
“A little over a year ago, we saw a rare opportunity to flip a judicial seat from blue to red in our area. Thanks to the support of so many volunteers, the Brooklyn GOP & Conservative Party, Etan Harris is going to be the first Republican civil court judge in over 100 years,” Vernikov told The Post.
“Etan will bring a non-biased, apolitical approach to the bench, as well as integrity and competence. I was proud to support him and help get him to the finish line.”
