The Democratic Party found Election Day success at both the national and local levels, winning enough Congressional races to flip the U.S. House of Representatives away from Republican control in addition to grabbing the majority in the state Senate.
Incumbent 3rd Congressional District U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) secured 57 percent of the vote against Republican challenger Dan DeBono for another term. He will begin his next term as part of the new House majority.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” Suozzi posted on his campaign’s Facebook page. “It is an honor to serve.”
In New York, the long-billed “blue wave” also hit the state Senate where five Democratic challengers successfully unseated incumbents and three more won open seats, to create a new Democratic majority. The flip will put all three houses of the state government in the hands of the same party beginning in January 2019.
Democratic challenger Jim Gaughran, of Northport, was among the five party successes by unseating incumbent state Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) in the 5th Senate District. Gaughran won by approximately 14,000 votes, receiving 53 percent of the total ballots cast.
“I’m just overwhelmed with the number of volunteers that came in and worked to help my campaign, it really made the difference” he said. “I’m so grateful to the people of Nassau and Suffolk counties for giving me the opportunity to represent them.”
The victory shows a significant change since the 2016 election, in which Gaughran had previously run unsuccessfully against Marcellino for the seat, losing by a narrow margin of roughly 2,000 votes. The Democrat said he believed increased political awareness of the issues on a statewide level and media coverage contributed to his 2018 midterm success.
“I think this year people focused more on the state Senate,” Gaughran said. “The Republican majority not allowing votes on measures such as Red Flag Bill for gun safety, saw the need for change. They wanted to start to move forward.”
Marcellino could not be reached for comment by press time Nov. 7. The Democrat did offer kind words to his opponent.
“I think Sen. Marcellino should be congratulated for his 23 years of dedicated service to the people of his district,” he said.
New York state Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) won re-election to the 2nd District and will continue his more than 30-year tenure, defeating challenger Kathleen Cleary by about 11 percentage points. Flanagan will relinquish his spot as Senate Majority Leader with the Democrats seizing control. He could not be reached for comment by press time Nov. 7.
“I did not win, but we made sure that the issues important to us: women’s reproductive health, the Child Victims Act, ERPO, [the New York Health Act] were discussed and now that the [state] Senate has flipped to blue these bills will be passed,” Cleary posted on her campaign’s Facebook page.
In the state Assembly, Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) has been elected to his first full-term in office representing the 10th District receiving 57 percent of the vote against first-time Republican challenger Jeremy Williams, of Huntington Station. His win puts the seat solidly in Democratic Party control, as the district was previously a Republican stronghold for more than 30 years until Stern’s historic win in the April special election against candidate Janet Smitelli.
“I strongly believe that I continue to have the ongoing support of my community because I continue to deliver results,” Stern said.
The Democrat said he does believe that the flip in the state Senate could open up new doors and avenues for legislation.
“There’s certainly an opportunity that did not exist before to have important legislative initiatives that I would be able to pass in the Assembly to now have a parter in the Senate,” he said. “It does provide the opportunity to have a working majority in the Senate.”
State Assemblyman Andrew Raia (R-East Northport) has been re-elected to his ninth term representing the constituents of the 12th Assembly District over Democratic challenger Avrum Rosen, of Centerport. Raia previously told TBR News Media, if re-elected, he planned to reintroduce state legislation he co-sponsored this year relating to the Long Island Power Authority’s tax certiorari case against the Town of Huntington. The bill would have allowed the town to spread out any tax rate changes over a 15-year period and granted access to state funds to stabilize taxes, but never made it to the floor for a vote.
In the Town of Huntington, Councilwoman Joan Cergol (D) was elected to serve as a town council member over Republican challenger James Leonick as she received approximately 53 percent of the vote.
“Thank you, Huntington voters, for showing your faith in me and electing me as your councilwoman,” Cergol posted on her Facebook page Wednesday morning. “It was thrilling to watch your votes come in. Together, we did this!”
Leonick could not be reached for comment prior to press time.
Reporting contributed by Kyle Barr and Rita J. Egan.