Sept. 13 primary results: New York

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Governor Andrew Cuomo wins New York primary race

Cuomo defeats Cynthia Nixon in New York's Democratic gubernatorial primary.

New York voters on Thursday cast ballots in the second installment of the state’s primaries ahead of the general election in November, selecting candidates for state and local races. Here are the results:

New York

Gubernatorial primary results:

Democratic incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo easily beat back a primary challenge from the actress and activist Cynthia Nixon on Thursday with 65.6% percent of the vote. During the campaign, Cuomo seldom mentioned Nixon by name, instead touting his experience, achievements in two terms as governor and his work to push back against President Donald Trump.

FILE: New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, left, speaks during a Democratic primary debate in Hempstead, N.Y., and Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a press conference in New York. (AP)

There were indications that the former "Sex and the City" actress pushed the incumbent governor to the left on several issues, including legalizing marijuana and addressing crumbling public housing in New York City.

FILE: New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, center, speaks to members of the media outside a polling station after voting in the primary. (AP)

With registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans more than 2 to 1 in New York, Cuomo becomes the automatic front-runner in November’s matchup with Republican Marc Molinaro, who secured the GOP nomination uncontested.

GOP Primary – Marc Molinaro            Uncontested

Dem Primary – Andrew M. Cuomo     Votes 975,552     Vote Percentage: 65.6%

Lieutenant Governor

In the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, incumbent and Cuomo running mate Kathy Hochul defeated challenger Jumaane Williams, a New York City councilman who had promised if elected to serve as a check on Cuomo.

Candidate for Lt. Governor Jumaane Williams delivers his concession speech at the Working Families Party primary night party. (AP)

Hochul, a former congresswoman from Buffalo, spent much of the campaign touting her role in the Cuomo administration. Cuomo first picked her as his running mate in the 2014 election. Hochul will face GOP challenger Julie Killian in November.

GOP Primary – Julie Killian          Uncontested

Dem Primary – Kathy Hochul     Votes: 731,459     Vote Percentage: 53.3%

Attorney General

Cuomo’s pick for attorney general, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, won a four-way Democratic primary with more than 40 percent of the vote. James told her supporters in Brooklyn on Thursday that President Donald Trump “can’t go a day without dividing us” and that they’re “in the middle of a fight to save our democracy.”

James would be the first black woman to hold statewide elected office in New York if she prevails in the general election. She was heavily endorsed by Cuomo and several influential unions and will be heavily favored in the November general election.

The Republican candidate is Keith Wofford, a little-known Buffalo native who’s worked as a lawyer in private practice for two decades. Wofford attacked James as a “career politician” who will “uphold the status-quo.”

Wofford has pitched himself as an “independent outsider” who will do what’s in the state’s best interests and an alternative to the political establishment.

GOP Primary – Keith Wofford      Uncontested

Dem Primary – Letitia James        Votes: 578,412     Vote Percentage: 40.6%

State Senate primary results:

Democratic socialist and first-time candidate Julia Salazar, 27, handily defeated eight-term incumbent Sen. Martin Dilan in New York’s 18th District with 59 percent of the vote, joining the ranks of progressive insurgents nationwide who have knocked out mainstream Democrats.

Julia Salazar, left, answers questions during an interview after winning the Democratic primary over Martin Dilan in New York's 18th State Senate district race. (AP)

Salazar faced criticism during her campaign for saying she was a poor immigrant from Colombia who struggled financially growing up when she was born into a wealthy family in Florida. She was also scrutinized for her apparent religious conversion while at Columbia University from an anti-abortion Christian Republican to a hard-left Jewish Democrat.

There was no Republican candidate running in the district which virtually guarantees Salazar a seat.

District 18: Dem Primary – Julia Salazar    Votes: 20,603     Vote Percentage: 59.0%

                     GOP Primary – No candidate

Salazar’s victory came on a night when primary voters also took their revenge on a splinter group of Democratic state senators who broke with the party to join a group that supported Republican control of the chamber. Despite a political deal earlier this year to end the schism, six of the eight members of the now-defunct Independent Democratic Conference were ousted in party primaries Thursday.

Among those losing their races was Bronx Sen. Jeff Klein, the former IDC leader and current No. 2 in the state Senate. Klein lost to Alessandra Biaggi, an attorney who has worked for Cuomo's and Hillary Clinton's campaigns.

But voters also decided to support another breakaway Democrat, Brooklyn Sen. Simcha Felder. Felder was not an IDC member but also voted with the Republicans, letting them remain in control even though Democrats outnumbered them in the Senate by one seat. Felder beat challenger Blake Morris in the Democratic primary.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.