Kevin Thomas declares victory in 6th State Senate race

Absentee ballots put him over Republican challenger Dennis Dunne Sr.

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Kevin Thomas declared victory in the 6th State Senate race on Monday night after the results of the absentee ballot vote count put him over his Republican challenger Dennis Dunne Sr.

The following afternoon, he joined with fellow Democratic state senators outside the Nassau County Democratic Committee’s headquarters in Garden City, where Committee Chair Jay Jacobs congratulated him on the win.

“I had a good, solid sense that Kevin Thomas won about a week ago,” said Jay Jacobs, explaining that he only makes a decision to call a race when there is enough of a margin of victory that there is “no possible way opponents could overturn it.”

Thomas, a Democrat from Levittown, was behind by roughly 8,000 votes against Dunne, Sr. on election night.

According to Jacobs, Thomas is now ahead by at least 1,400 votes — a larger margin of victory than he had in 2018 when he defeated incumbent Sen. Kemp Hannon.

In a speech declaring his victory, Thomas, an Indian-American, began by wishing everybody a happy Diwali and noted the significance of the Hindu festival as a celebration of new beginnings.

In his new term, Thomas said, he hopes to help the economy recover, small businesses grow and families prosper. He thanked his constituents and said, “no matter our differences, we all have the same values.”

Jacobs said that Thomas faced harsh attacks and fear mongering claims on the campaign trail, yet overcame them.

“He’s a true public servant who wakes up every day and thinks about how he could make New York a better place,” added Senator Todd Kaminsky, who was re-elected to represent the 9th State Senate District.

“This was an election unlike anything this district or this state has ever seen before,” Thomas said. “We had a record turnout for early voting and on Election Day as well as record-breaking absentee ballots that were being sent to the local Board of Elections.”

Jacobs explained that the results of some races on Election Day appeared to favor the Republican candidate, but was confident that the over 146,000 absentee ballots would prove otherwise. “We knew the red mirage would turn into a blue ocean,” he said.