Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Election night brought a number of major victories for Democrats in New York state and Nassau County. The “blue wave” of party wins that many pollsters predicted in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s voting materialized, as President Trump’s favorability continues to drop nationwide.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was easily re-elected, defeating her Republican challenger, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, by more than 20 percentage points, according to the Associated Press.
At the Democratic watch party in New Hyde Park, Jay Jacobs, chair of both the New York and Nassau County Democratic committees, announced that a majority of the nearly half-million county residents who cast ballots had chosen Hochul.
“You win some, you lose some,” Blakeman said in his concession speech. “The fact of the matter is that now we pull together, we move forward, we have the best interests of the people in our heart.”
In New York’s 4th Congressional district, voters re-elected Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen, who cruised to a double-digit win over the Republican Town of Hempstead receiver of taxes, Jeanine Driscoll — though, like most races, the results had not yet been made official as the Herald went to press on Wednesday.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate flipped to Democratic control on Tuesday. Asked what changes voters could expect to see now with the new majorities, Gillen said that tackling economic issues, the war with Iran and gas prices would be their top priorities.
“We’re going to pass some legislation to restore the tax credits that were taken away,” she said. “We’re going to end some of these tariffs, and I’m going to be pushing to restore the full state and local tax deduction for the high cost of living in areas like New York.”
Blakeman’s and Driscoll’s losses were not a surprise to many, as New York state remains a stronghold for Democrats. Most election observers, however, said their performances were indications of Trump’s waning popularity, given that both candidates had closely allied themselves with the president during their campaigns.
In local races, perhaps the greatest surprise for Freeport and Roosevelt voters was the defeat of incumbent Hempstead Town Supervisor John Ferretti, a Republican, by Democrat Joe Scianablo. Scianablo won with 52 percent of the vote, to Ferretti’s 48 percent — about 10,000 votes — according to Tuesday night’s results.
“I’m willing to work with independents, Republicans, Democrats, of course, state, county, federal-level partners to bring much-needed resources back to the Town of Hempstead,” Scianablo told the Herald. “So, I look forward to working with whoever is successful in tonight’s election.”
Republican Town Clerk Kate Murray was also trailing Democrat Joylette Williams by 2 percentage points in a contest that was too close to call when polls closed.
In the race for the seat in Nassau County’s 6th Legislative District, Republican Benjamin Jackson, president of the Freeport Chamber of Commerce, once again fell short of unseating Democratic incumbent Debra Mulé. Mulé’s margin of victory the morning after polls closed seemed to be even larger than when she secured nearly two-thirds of the votes in Freeport and Baldwin against Jackson last year.
Mulé told the Herald that with Blakeman remaining in the county executive’s office, it is time for the Legislature to adjust how it operates.
“The legislation that we [Democrats] have proposed over the course of the last three years has not gone through,” she said. “We will immediately begin rolling those out again, because they are good government initiatives and we need to get them passed.”
The Legislature was expected to remain in Republican control, with each party having a healthy lead in seven races each, while three more were leaning Republican and two Democratic, projecting a 10-9 Republican majority. Democrat Lauren Chin, attempting to flip the 9th District seat, had a narrow lead over incumbent Scott Strauss.
Democrat Siela Bynoe easily earned another term in the 6th State Senate District, over Republican challenger Matt Capp. Two more Democrats, Noah Burroughs and Judy Griffin, also had impressive victories in the 18th and 21st assembly districts, respectively. Democrat Scott Davis and Republican Michael Giangregorio were headed to re-elections in the county’s 1st and 12th legislative districts.
Alongside Gillen, Democrat Tom Suozzi was re-elected in the 3rd Congressional District. But Suffolk County Republican incumbent Congressmen Nicholas LaLota and Andrew Garbarino stood their ground against the blue wave and kept the 1st and 2nd districts red, despite slim 2 and 3-percentage-point preliminary margins.
