Incumbents held their ground in most contests across Suffolk as preliminary election results rolled in. Countywide leaders on the ticket, District Attorney Raymond Tierney and Sheriff Errol Toulon, cruised to victory, having faced no opposition. In an upset, Republican Legislator Catherine Stark of the East End’s 1st District was defeated by Democrat Greg Doroski.
In the contest featuring Republican Stephanie Bontempi, early returns show the margin razor-thin, with the incumbent holding a lead of less than two percentage points over Democratic challenger Craig G. Herskowitz.
In a squeaker, Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard, a Republican, is down by only six votes to Jerome Halpin in the unofficial count. Leading the ticket in Brookhaven, Town Clerk Kevin LaValle easily won re-election.
Republican legislators Trish Bergin, Nick Caracappa, Steve Flotteron, Leslie Kennedy, Chad Lennon, Jim Mazzarella, Anthony Piccirillo, and Dominick Thorne won re-election, cementing the GOP majority. All of the GOP legislators were cross-endorsed by the Conservative Party, enhancing their margins of victory.
Democratic incumbents Tom Donnelly, Steve Englebright, Samuel Gonzalez, Rebecca Sanin, Ann Welker, and Jason Richberg, the minority leader, won re-election. Winning the 14th District seat held by term-limited Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey was RJ Renna, who ran unopposed. Another Republican legislator leaving because of term limits, the 13th District’s Robert Trotta, will be succeeded by the GOP’s Salvatore Formica.
Voters also approved a countywide ballot proposition giving legislators four-year terms. A statewide referendum to allow a sports complex on upstate parkland was likewise approved by New York voters.
In New York City, Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by about nine points, a rematch of their primary contest, which Cuomo also lost. Radio personality Curtis Sliwa netted a little more than 7 percent on the Republican line, not making a difference in the final tally.