Democratic incumbent Adam Bello is the projected winner in the race for Monroe County executive, according to the Associated Press.

Bello is projected to defeat Republican challenger Mark Assini, who formally served as Gates town supervisor and was previously a congressional hopeful.

Bello announced his re-election campaign in January. He has served as county executive since defeating then-incumbent Cheryl Dinolfo in Nov. 2019. He is only the second Democrat to be elected Monroe County executive; the first being Tom Frey in 1986. Bello has also served as Irondequoit town supervisor and Monroe County clerk.

"For the first time in Monroe County's history, we have re-elected a Democrat to the office of county executive," Bello said Tuesday night.

In Monroe County, there are far more registered Democratic voters than Republican, with about 201,000 compared to 124,000.

"It was just four years ago [that] I ran for office with the promise that I would bring new ideas, new energy and new leadership to county government," Bello said. "When I started as county executive, most people didn't know what county government even did. Because they didn't know what it could do. If there's one thing that I'm proud of what this team has accomplished over the last four years is that we've changed that."

Bello's first term was defined by the COVID-19 pandemic. He took office just months before the shutdown began.

"When I think back to my days working as executive director of the party, we dreamed of a night like this," he said. "Back then, every countywide office was held by the Republicans, and we were a far cry away from a majority in the legislature. With years and years of hard work and support, it's a new day in Monroe County."

As Bello hinted in a speech Tuesday evening, projected vote results also have Democrats taking a clear majority in the Monroe County Legislature.