Mimi Rocah

Former federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah held the lead midday Wednesday over incumbent Anthony Scarpino in the Democratic primary for Westchester County district attorney, according to an unofficial tally from the county.

As of midday Wednesday, the unofficial tally from Westchester County showed Rocah with 68% of the vote. The unofficial tally listed Rocah, a distinguished fellow in criminal justice at Pace University's law school, with 20,837 votes. Scarpino had 9,668 votes, for 32%. No early voting had yet been tallied.

Rocah is facing off with Scarpino, a former FBI special agent and a former judge who has headed the District Attorney's Office since his election in 2016.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Rocah's campaign said thousands of paper ballots have yet to be tallied, but the margin on Election Day "leaves little hope" for Scarpino.

"While tonight's results are preliminary, and it is imperative that every vote is counted, our lead is extremely strong and the strength of our support so far makes it clear that we will win this primary," Rocah said in a statement. "We look forward to focusing on and winning the election in November, and reforming criminal justice in our county."

In recent weeks, following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, there have been nationwide demonstrations for racial justice and against the killing of Black Americans by police. The protests sparked a national reckoning and prompted conversations on the intersection of race and criminal justice.

In Westchester County, those issues became topics in the campaign. Rocah has argued that Westchester County is behind when it comes to ending racial bias in criminal justice and making sure innocent people are not convicted. 

During the primary race, Scarpino faced criticism that he did not do enough to investigate police misconduct.

A spokesperson for the Scarpino campaign has said the suggestion that the district attorney does not prosecute members of law enforcement is not borne out by the facts.

Across the United States, local prosecutorial elections have garnered national attention and shaped up as battlegrounds over criminal justice reforms.

Some high-profile figures have thrown their support around Rocah, including Gloria Steinem, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District New York. She is also backed by the New York Working Families Party, according to her campaign website.

For his part, Scarpino has been endorsed by a number of elected officials, including state Sen. Peter Harckham, Assemblymember Amy Paulin and state Sen. Shelley Mayer. He is also backed by the mayors of New Rochelle, White Plains, Yonkers and Peekskill, according to his campaign website.

At a virtual debate last month hosted by the League of Women Voters of Westchester, Scarpino argued he has "unsurpassed" experience for the post and said violent crimes have fallen substantially since he took office in 2017. He said murders, robberies and home invasions have all dropped.

"We did this by focusing our efforts on the violent criminal leaders in our [communities] and taking them off the street," he said. 

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