Progressive Julia Salazar trounced longtime Brooklyn state Sen. Martin Dilan on Thursday, despite a storm of controversy over her wildly exaggerated biography.
“This was a brutal race because they knew we were a threat to the concentrated wealth and power in this race,” Salazar told supporters at her victory party in East Williamsburg.
Salazar, 27, stormed passed Dilan, winning 58 percent of the vote, according to nearly complete but still unofficial returns.
It was a startling turn of events for the eight-term incumbent, who turned back liberal challengers in 2014 but could not survive the left-wing tsunami sweeping across state Senate races this year.
Salazar’s campaign was nearly upended by a slate of stories that revealed significant misstatements and exaggerations in her self-provided biography.
She repeatedly claimed she was an immigrant, even though she was born in Miami.
Her campaign website implied that she graduated from Columbia University, although she never completed her degree.
Stephan Maples, a Salazar volunteer, said, “I think what really mattered to the people of this district were the issues: health care, affordable housing.” The articles, he added, were “just noise.”