City Councilwoman Letitia James won the Democratic public advocate runoff Tuesday, becoming the party’s nominee and all but assuring she will become the city’s elected watchdog. James defeated state Sen. Daniel Squadron and faces a general election next month without a Republican opponent. With 99 percent of precincts reporting around 11 p.m. Tuesday, James had 59.6 percent of the vote, CBS 2 reported; Squadron had 40.4 percent.

“There’s so much more work to do because the next generation of New Yorkers are at risk of losing the opportunities that allowed us to make it in this city,” she said. James and Squadron were the top two finishers in the Sept. 10 primary, but neither eclipsed the 40 percent threshold that would have avoided the costly runoff.

The winners of the higher-profile mayoral and comptroller primary contests stayed above that mark, meaning the race to fill the little-understood public advocate position was the only one on the ballot.