Friday, November 6, 2026
A blue wave swept across Long Island’s North Shore on Tuesday, as Democrats prevailed in several closely watched races for Congress and the State Legislature, according to unofficial election results. Republican Jake Blumencranz bucked the trend, leading Democrat Rory Lancman in the race for an open State Senate seat in the 7th District.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul also secured a second term as governor, defeating Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman by a wide margin statewide. But the contest was far closer in Blakeman’s home county, where Hochul held a narrow lead of just 2,604 votes, according to the Nassau County Board of Elections.
Hochul received 3,550,354 votes statewide, or 60.1 percent, compared with Blakeman’s 2,345,191, or 39.7 percent, according to online reports Wednesday morning.
“Serving you has taught me that leadership isn’t about just having the courage to make the tough calls,” Hochul said in her victory speech. “It’s about the humility to go through it all, and I answer to you, the people of New York.”
In Nassau County, Hochul received 249,895 votes, or 50.21 percent, compared with Blakeman’s 247,291 votes, or 49.68 percent.
As he conceded, Blakeman called for unity following the election. “You win some, you lose some,” he said. “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 3rd Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi defeated Republican Michael LiPetri Jr. in a rematch of their 2024 contest. According to Nassau County’s unofficial returns, Suozzi received 102,635 votes, or 53.39 percent, compared with LiPetri’s 89,125 votes, or 46.36 percent. The district also includes parts of Queens.
Suozzi, a former Glen Cove mayor and Nassau County executive, returned to Congress in February 2024 after winning a special election to replace expelled Republican Rep. George Santos. Suozzi’s re-election campaign drew national Republican attention, including visits by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President J.D. Vance.
“The good news is democracy works,” Suozzi said following his victory. He criticized the involvement of national Republican leaders, emphasizing that their efforts to defeat him had failed.
Despite the contentious campaign, Suozzi said that affordability would remain his central priority in Congress. “Everybody knows why things are more expensive,” he said. “The tariffs are why things are more expensive. The war is why things are more expensive.”
He also pointed to federal debt, interest rates and changes to health insurance subsidies as contributing to financial pressures on American households.
Suozzi said voters were looking for solutions rather than continued political confrontation. “They don’t want the blame game,” he said. “They don’t want the finger-pointing. They don’t want the attacks and counterattacks. Let’s work together, Democrats and Republicans, to make Americans’ lives more affordable.”
In the contest in the 13th Assembly District, Democratic incumbent Charles Lavine held a substantial lead over Republican challenger Conner Dunleavy. Lavine received 24,929 votes, or 59.50 percent, compared with Dunleavy’s 16,927 votes, or 40.40 percent, according to unofficial Nassau County returns.
Lavine, whose district includes Glen Cove and surrounding North Shore communities, said the results reflected something broader than a partisan shift. “I don’t like to refer to it as a blue wave,” he said. “To me it is a red, white and blue wave. I think the American people have awakened to the crisis that we face, and they have, as we always do, risen to meet the challenge.”
The Democratic gains did not extend to the 7th State Senate District, where Republican Jake Blumencranz led Democrat Rory Lancman in the contest for the seat previously held by Republican Jack Martins. Blumencranz, a state assemblyman, received 61,246 votes, or 51.96 percent, compared with Lancman’s 56,472 votes, or 47.91 percent.
Lancman, a former state Assemblyman and New York City councilman, had sought to return to Albany, while Blumencranz campaigned to move from the Assembly to the Senate.
At the county level, Democratic incumbent Delia DeRiggi-Whitton held a commanding lead over Republican John Canning in the 11th Legislative District, which includes Glen Cove and other North Shore communities. DeRiggi-Whitton received 16,323 votes, or 61.41 percent, compared with Canning’s 10,238 votes, or 38.52 percent.
DeRiggi-Whitton, who has represented the district since 2012, said that strengthening the Legislature’s oversight of county government would be among her priorities. “I have many [top priorities],” she said, “but mainly that I want to really bring back the checks and balances of the Nassau County government and make sure that the Legislature has a true role.”
