In record turnout, Bellmore-Merrick voters re-elect Rice, McDonough to local seats

In an election that saw record voter turnout both at the polls and through the mail due to the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of absentee ballots remained to be counted in Nassau as of midnight on Tuesday.

In the 4th Congressional District, incumbent U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, a Democrat from Garden City, declared victory against Republican challenger Douglas Tuman. She received 52 percent of the vote.

“It is an extraordinary honor to be re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives,” Rice said in a statement. “As we await the final results from across the country, I am hopeful that this will be a good night for our nation. Long Islanders and Americans of all political backgrounds want an end to the dysfunction in Washington, and we can only achieve that if we work together.”

In New York’s 14th Assembly District, longtime Assemblyman David McDonough, a Republican from North Merrick, retained his seat in Albany, winning 58 percent of the vote.

“I’m very grateful to be re-elected, and am looking forward to continue doing what I do,” McDonough told the Herald Wednesday morning. “I really am an employee of my constituents — I work for them.”

In what will likely be his last term, McDonough said he planned to focus on taxes, health care and education. “It’s important that we get kids back in school,” he said, “especially the younger kids who are missing out on socialization . . . The virus is still a very big concern, but we’re going to try and help our people through that crisis.”

As Rice does in Washington, McDonough envisions a less divisive future in Albany. “At the state level, we have to start working together,” he said. “The word I hate most is politics. We have to overcome the politics and learn to come together.”

Nassau County Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs declared State Sen. John Brooks, of Seaford, as the winner of his uncontested race just before midnight on Tuesday. Brooks ran unopposed in the 8th District, which covers Bellmore and Merrick.