Manhattan Councilmember Erik Bottcher, the co-chair of the Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus, easily won a special election on Feb. 3 to replace Brad Hoylman-Sigal in the State Senate, defeating Republican Charlotte Friedman by a wide margin, according to unofficial results.

Bottcher’s victory in District 47, which runs along the west side of Manhattan from Manhattan Valley down to Greenwich Village, ensures that the seat will continue to be held by an out lawmaker and comes just over a month after Hoylman-Sigal resigned from the State Senate to become Manhattan borough president.