Electoral Hakarat Hatov

When The Jewish Press endorsed Charles Hynes for reelection as Brooklyn district attorney in both the Democratic Party primary in September and the general election in November, we cited as one reason the general notion of hakarat hatov. That is, absent compelling reasons to the contrary, incumbents who have been responsive to the special needs of our community presumptively deserve our electoral support. It appears that electoral districts with large numbers of Jewish voters agreed with us.

While we do not yet have definitive information about the general election voting in particular districts, we do have the numbers for the primary and they show clearly that hakarat hatov is alive and well in districts with majority Jewish populations, as Mr. Hynes won there while losing borough-wide.

We suspect that the breakdown in the general election will track the primary results. We will share that information when it becomes available.