New York State Assemblyman Andrew Garbarino (R-Sayville) declared himself the winner over Democrat Jackie Gordon on Tuesday in his bid to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).
Garbarino was leading Gordon, a veteran and former Babylon Town Councilwoman, with 52 percent to 40 percent of the vote with a majority of districts reporting, according to unofficial early returns from the New York State Board of Elections. Gordon has not conceded the race.
“My job isn’t to go down to Washington to make my life better, it’s to make everybody’s life better,” Garbarino told cheering supporters late Tuesday night. “I won’t let you down … this is a great victory.”
King, a 14-term congressman, endorsed Garbarino after King declined to seek re-election. The vacant seat was one of the most closely watched congressional races in the nation.
Despite the GOP holding on to the Second Congressional District representing the South Shore of eastern Nassau County and western Suffolk County, The Associated Press reported that the Democrats are expected to maintain the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
As far as the other four members of the Long Island congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) is leading Republican challenger Douglas Tuman, U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) ran unopposed, U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) is in a tight race that’s too close to call against GOP rival George Santos, and U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin declared victory over Democratic challenger Nancy Goroff, who has not conceded.
“As we await the final tally of all votes, we are confident of Congressman Tom Suozzi’s victory,” said Kim Devlin, a senior campaign advisor. “It is clear that Tom will win re-election by a substantial margin. Democrats hold a 3-1 advantage in the nearly 90k absentee votes yet to be counted and we expect Tom’s margin of victory to be over 20k votes.”
Related Story: Gordon, Garbarino Vie To Replace Retiring Rep. King
Related Story: Zeldin Declares Victory Over Goroff
Related Story: What To Expect On Election Night And Beyond
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