It would be great if this week, after some 6,000 paper and absentee ballots are finally counted, Tiffany Cabán would become the new Queens County District Attorney. Yet, although she declared victory two weeks ago, her triumph is not certain. 

It would be great not only for Queens and all of New York City, but also for a Democratic Party gasping for fresh air and desperately in need of courage and renewal if it is going to have a chance to beat Donald Trump in 2020. 

Like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cabán, 31 and also of Puerto Rican descent, is a former public defender and avowed democratic socialist. Cabán did not have the support of the Democratic Party, which backed her opponent, Melinda Katz, the Queens borough president and a longtime party operative. Not surprisingly, Gov. Andrew Cuomo endorsed Katz. Cabán had promised to end the criminalizing of Latinos and other minorities that has been the unwritten law of the land for many years. 

On the other hand and underlining the power struggle taking place within the Democratic Party, the two most progressive presidential candidates, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, endorsed Cabán. 

Last July 3, New York Board of Elections invalidated over 2,000 absentee ballots changing, at least temporarily the election result. With an almost negligible difference of 16 votes favoring Katz, the race will go to a manual recount this week. 

But as the digital newsletter The City concludes: “No matter what the final result, Cabán’s strong showing appears destined to stagger an already ailing Queens Democratic machine.” 

A very good thing that needs to be replicated as soon as possible at the national level.