New York State Senate Sixth District
Nassau County Legislator Siela Bynoe (D-Westbury) defeated Assemblymember Taylor Darling (D-Hempstead) in the primary race to replace outgoing State Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown) in New York State’s Sixth Senate District, according to unofficial returns from the Nassau County Board of Elections.
With all 234 precincts in the district counted, Bynoe led Darling by a margin of about 53% to 46%, with less than one percent of ballots being write-ins.
With this victory, Bynoe could end up being the first African-American state senator from Long Island in history. She will face attorney Thomas Montefinise (R-Garden City), who ran uncontested on the Republican side, in November.
Kevin Thomas won the seat in an upset victory over longtime State Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City) and won re-election to the seat in 2020 and 2022. Thomas then ran in the Democratic primary in New York’s Fourth Congressional District, hoping to face off against incumbent Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) in November, but he suspended his campaign earlier this year and endorsed former Town of Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen, who will face D’Esposito in a rematch of their 2022 race. After dropping out, Thomas announced he would not be seeking re-election to the State Senate.
The sixth district portions of the Town of Hempstead including the villages of Hempstead and Garden City, and the hamlets of Levittown, East Meadow, and stretches into the Town of Oyster Bay including the hamlets of Plainedge and Bethpage.
Other Primary Elections in Nassau County
New York State Senate Seventh District
Republican State Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) currently represents the seventh Senate district in Albany, and was unchallenged in the Republican primary. However, on the Democratic side, activist Kim Keiserman (D-Port Washington) defeated Brad Schwartz by a margin of about 75% to 24%, according to unofficial returns from the Nassau County Board of Elections.
The district includes all of the Town of North Hempstead and smaller portions of the towns of Oyster Bay and Hempstead.
New York State Assembly District 18
Taylor Darling currently represents the 18th Assembly District, but forgo re-election to that seat to run for State Senate. The Democratic primary race for her replacement featured Village of Hempstead Councilman Noah Burroughs (D-Hempstead) against Lisa Ortiz (D-Lakeview). Burroughs defeated Ortiz by a margin of about 51% to 48%, according to unofficial returns from the Nassau County Board of Elections.
The district is fully based in the Town of Hempstead and includes Roosevelt, the village of Freeport, Lakeview, Uniondale, and the village of Hempstead.
New York State Assembly District 21
Rematches are quite rare in politics – rubber matches are even rarer.
While perhaps not as exciting as the Thrilla in Manila, that’s what will happen in this district, as former Assemblymember Judy Griffin (D-Rockville Centre) defeated Patricia Maher by a margin of about 85% to 14%, and will face incumbent Assemblymember Brian Curran (R-Lynbrook) for a third time.
Griffin held the seat from 2019 to 2022. She defeated Curran, who had held the seat since 2010, in 2018. Curran ran again in 2022, and won his seat back from Griffin as part of the 2022 Long Island red wave.
The district is in the Town of Hempstead, and contains the villages of Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Malverne, South Hempstead, Baldwin and parts of Freeport, West Hempstead, Oceanside, East Rockaway, Lakeview, Hewlett, Hempstead, Franklin Square, and Valley Stream.
