LaLota leads tight race in NY-1; Murray threatens upset of Palumbo as Democrats surge nationally

Rep. Nick LaLota held a narrow lead in his bid for a third term in Congress early Wednesday, while Democrat Chris Murray led State Sen. Anthony Palumbo in a potential upset of a longtime East End Republican legislator.

LaLota led Democrat Christopher Gallant by 6,677 votes in the 1st Congressional District, a substantially smaller margin than in either of his previous elections. Murray held a 4,064-vote advantage over Palumbo in the 1st Senate District.

One election district remained unreported in each race, and additional absentee ballots were outstanding. The number of outstanding absentee ballots was not immediately available.

The competitive local contests unfolded amid a national surge for Democrats, who seized control of both the House and the Senate, according to The Associated Press, scoring victories in states that had been reliably Republican.

Democrats also claimed victory in statehouses in traditionally Republican statehouses in Texas, Iowa, Kansas and Ohio. Democrats finished the night with a 228 to 139 advantage in the House and 68 races still to be called. In the Senate they will have a 54 to 44 seat advantage, with two races to be called.

In eastern Suffolk, the returns left LaLota ahead in a much tighter contest than his previous races and Palumbo facing the possibility of losing a Senate seat Republicans have held for decades.

LaLota had 152,546 votes, or 51.09%, to Gallant’s 145,869, or 48.85%, with 560 of 561 election districts reporting. His advantage was about 2.2 percentage points.

Gallant urged patience as counting continued.

“At this time, there are still votes to count, and every single one of them deserves to be counted,” Gallant said in a statement. “It’s obvious now that this election was not what people thought it would be.”

Gallant said the close results demonstrated dissatisfaction with the status quo on Long Island and argued for leadership defined by public service and ability rather than partisanship.

“To my volunteers, friends, family, and staff: thank you. Be patient, and our work is not over.”

Gallant’s showing brought Democrats considerably closer than in the district’s previous three congressional elections.

In 2024, LaLota defeated John Avlon 226,285 to 183,540, or 55.2% to 44.8%, a margin of 42,745 votes. In 2022, he defeated Bridget Fleming 177,040 to 141,907, or 55.5% to 44.5%, a margin of 35,133 votes.

LaLota’s predecessor, Republican Lee Zeldin, won by a similar margin in 2020, defeating Democrat Nancy Goroff 205,715 to 169,294, or 54.8% to 45.1%. The comparisons span changes in congressional district boundaries.

In the 1st Senate District, Murray had 62,408 votes, or 51.66%, to Palumbo’s 58,344, or 48.30%, with 213 of 214 election districts reporting. Murray ran on the Democratic and Working Families lines; Palumbo ran on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Palumbo first won the 2nd Assembly District seat in a special election that November, succeeding Dan Losquadro, who left to become Brookhaven Town highway superintendent. Palumbo won his first full term in 2014.

He was elected to the Senate in 2020, succeeding Ken LaValle, who decided not to seek reelection after serving since 1977. First elected in 1976, LaValle was the Senate’s longest-serving member when he announced his retirement.

In the neighboring 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Andrew Garbarino led Democrat Patrick Halpin 125,338 to 119,079, a margin of 6,259 votes, according to NBC News’ results page. Garbarino had approximately 51.2% to Halpin’s 48.7% across the district, which includes parts of Suffolk and Nassau counties. NBC had not designated a projected winner when its results were checked.

A Murray victory would mark a significant local upset, unseating an established incumbent whose legislative career began in 2013.

Republican Assembly Member Jodi Giglio held a more substantial lead in the 2nd Assembly District, although Democrat Michael Szika drew more than 21,000 votes despite not actively campaigning, according to Newsday’s pre-election endorsement.

Giglio had 31,513 votes, or 58.48%, to Szika’s 21,672, or 40.22%, a margin of 9,841 votes. Kimberly Wilder, running on the Voter Options line, received 678 votes, or 1.26%. All 85 election districts had reported preliminary results.

Statewide races

New York’s three statewide Democratic incumbents won reelection, with statewide margins considerably larger than their advantages in Suffolk County.

Gov. Kathy Hochul led Republican Bruce Blakeman 3,550,354 to 2,345,191, or 60.1% to 39.7%, in NBC’s reported returns. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli led Republican Joseph Hernandez 3,708,054 to 2,033,077, or 64.53% to 35.38%. Attorney General Letitia James led Republican Saritha Komatireddy 3,476,172 to 2,298,749, or 60.1% to 39.8%. NBC projected all three Democrats as winners.

In Suffolk, Hochul’s advantage over Blakeman was just 4,040 votes: 270,778 to 266,738, or 50.31% to 49.56%.

DiNapoli had the strongest Suffolk showing of the three, leading Hernandez 288,432 to 239,769, or 54.55% to 45.34%.

James’ county margin was less than one percentage point. She led Komatireddy 267,372 to 262,082, or 50.47% to 49.48%, a difference of 5,290 votes.

Suffolk County comptroller, clerk races

Republicans held the advantage in Suffolk’s two countywide administrative contests.

In the race for county comptroller, Republican Daniel Losquadro led Democrat Jon Estreich by 6,548 votes, 265,160 to 258,612, or 50.57% to 49.32%.

County Clerk Vincent Puleo, running on the Republican and Conservative lines, received 334,978 votes. Democrat-backed Cutchogue attorney Abigail Field mounted a write-in campaign, but the preliminary results did not identify individual write-in recipients. The BOE reported 43,343 votes in the aggregate write-in category.

Three of Suffolk’s 1,070 election districts remained unreported in the countywide races. All results remain unofficial and subject to further counting and certification.

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