Staten Island DA who didn't prosecute Eric Garner cops wins U.S. House seat

Staten Island D.A. Dan Donovan won a U.S. House seat

(Image credit: Facebook/DanDonovanS)

last updated 6 May 2015

The voters of Staten Island and part of Brooklyn have elected District Attorney Daniel Donovan Jr. (R) to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by Michael Grimm (R), who resigned after pleading guilty to federal tax-fraud changes. Donovan is best known nationally for not convincing a grand jury to indict the officers caught on video choking Eric Garner, who subsequently died.

Donovan easily beat Councilman Vincent Gentile (D), 60 percent to 39 percent, according to unofficial results, in the rare Republican-leaning district of New York City. The victorious DA still touted his win as a "message to President Obama, to Nancy Pelosi and, yes, even to Bill de Blasio, that their policies are wrong for our nation." National Democrats, after sinking millions into an unsuccessful 2014 attempt to unseat Grimm (R) — then under federal indictment but before he pleaded guilty — declined to support Gentile in this special election.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.