Take two: In southern Brooklyn, Chris McCreight running for Assembly again

Chris McCreight, chief of staff to New York City Council Member Justin Brannan, is making another run for Assembly District 46, state campaign finance records show, setting up a rematch of last fall’s competitive southern Brooklyn race between him and incumbent GOP Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny. 

“I’m running again because I think the current Assembly member is not doing the job,” McCreight told City & State Wednesday. “Right now, with everything that's going in D.C. with all the chaos, I think people in the district deserve someone who is actually going to be there to help navigate what’s going on, and also make their lives a little more affordable and a little better.” 

McCreight lost to Brook-Krasny in 2024 by just under 1,500 votes – or about 3.4%. With Brook-Krasny’s win a narrow one, McCreight is optimistic about taking on Brook-Krasny a second time. 

“It’s going to be much easier to make my case in a non-presidential year where you don't have all the noise – especially with Trump on the ballot, making it hard for people to break through,” McCreight said. “In terms of what’s at stake on a local level, you’re actually going to have a governor’s race, people are a little more in tune to the state and what’s going on with state issues … I think that’s ultimately going to favor me.” 

Brook-Krasny said he had not heard McCreight was running until City & State asked for comment, though he was not surprised. “It’s a free country – anyone can run for the state Assembly, including my former opponent. Not a big deal,” he said. 

McCreight’s second campaign comes on the heels of Brannan’s loss in the Democratic primary for New York City comptroller. Brannan, who is term-limited from the council at the end of the year, is thrilled to see his chief of staff make another bid for Albany in the battleground district. “Now more than ever, people need to see you and know that you are fighting for them every day,” Brannan said in a text message. “Chris works his ass off helping people and everyone knows he will continue to do that in the Assembly.” 

Meanwhile, fellow Brannan staffer Kayla Santosuosso is running to fill her boss’s seat, and won the Democratic nomination for City Council District 47 – which overlaps with Assembly District 46 – in June. It’s still not clear who she will face in November, though. As of Tuesday, when the city Board of Elections released its second update of ranked choice voting totals, Republican George Sarantopoulos led Brooklyn GOP Chair Richie Barsamian by a mere 14 votes.