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Mostly Cloudy Scannell loses Conservative primary
Browne captures write-in vote to claim additional party line
Republican Chris Browne scored a stunning victory in the Conservative Party primary Sept. 15, knocking Nassau County Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) off the party line by receiving 79 write-in votes, according to unofficial results provided by the county Board of Elections on Monday.
"It feels gratifying to have won, obviously, because we worked extremely hard," Browne told the Herald. "I think we had an effective message. I always believed that I more appropriately represented the interests of the Conservative Party."
Republican Election Commissioner John DeGrace confirmed Monday that Browne had at least 79 votes to Scannell's 64, and that Browne's number might be even higher when the results are certified. "I can definitely tell you without question that Browne was the winner," DeGrace said.
Despite the fact that the county Conservative Party's Executive Committee had endorsed Scannell in May, Browne said he believed that most registered Conservatives in the 5th District — many of whom petitioned for Browne to run in the primary as a write-in — chose him because he best represented the party's interests. Scannell, he said, accepted endorsements from numerous parties, many of which, Browne said, have conflicting platforms.
"I think the reason [Scannell] appears to have lost the Conservative nomination is because of his record and his decision to accept the support of the Working Families Party," Browne said of the two parties, which some have described as polar opposites. "I think this was a vote that really intended to say that ideas and principles matter, and you can't be all things to all people at all times. Sometimes, in public life, you have to take a stand, and Joe Scannell, in the course of his tenure, hasn't wanted to do that."
Scannell, who is seeking his fifth term on the Legislature, will take part in the general election on the Democratic Party line.
Doug Diana, Browne's campaign chairman, described the road to his victory as a long and difficult one. Diana, a Baldwin resident who has been involved in the Nassau political scene since 1987, said he has never seen an Opportunity to Ballot candidate like Browne knock off a party's endorsed choice.
