State Sen. Tony Avella, a former member of a now-defunct group of breakaway Democrats who lost to John Liu in his district’s Democratic primary in September, announced Monday that he will still run for his seat in the general election.
The Queens senator said in a video that he will run as a candidate for the Independence Party and the Women’s Equality Party.
Mr. Liu, a former New York City comptroller, beat Mr. Avella in the primary after announcing his own last-minute run. However, Mr. Avella said that he will have strong support in the general election from voters who couldn’t vote in the primary.
“Although I was disappointed in the results of the Democratic primary, I have been astounded by the level of support I have received since then from all aspects of our community,” he said.
Like Mr. Liu — who made a last-minute push to get on the Democratic ballot this summer after encouragement from a grass-roots group — Mr. Avella said residents urged him to continue his campaign.
