Incumbent Representative Nick LaLota, a Republican, appears to have easily defeated his Democratic challenger, John Avlon, to be re-elected for a second term in what many believed would be a close race.
For State Senate here, Republican Anthony Palumbo prevailed over his challenger, Sarah Anker. And Tommy John Schiavoni, a Democrat, was the winner in the race to replace retiring State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr.
Unofficial results from the Suffolk County Board of Elections had Mr. LaLota with 55.7 percent of the votes. New York's First Congressional District has been red since Lee Zeldin won the seat in 2015, and it will continue to be so after the 46-year-old Navy veteran's victory on Tuesday.
Before being elected to Congress, Mr. LaLota, who lives in Amityville, was chief of staff for the Suffolk County Legislature, and prior to that was a commissioner at the Suffolk County Board of Elections. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Homeland Security Committee, and the House Small Business Committee.
Mr. Avlon, a journalist and former CNN anchor who was a speechwriter for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, attempted to position himself as a centrist in his bid for the First Congressional District. He lives in Sag Harbor.
Days before Election Day, Mr. Avlon ran a flurry of ads attacking Mr. LaLota for praising the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. At a recent debate hosted by Newsday, Mr. LaLota deflected on the issue, stating that he "doesn't support a national abortion ban."
Both men have backed United States support for Israel in its war against Hamas. At the Newsday debate, Mr. Avlon advocated for the role of the U.S. in creating a two-state solution. Representative LaLota pivoted to Iran, blaming past Democratic presidents for giving the country "billions of dollars."
In the New York State Senate race, Mr. Palumbo, a first-term incumbent, got more than 53 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial tally. An attorney who lives in New Suffolk, he served a term in the State Assembly, representing the North Fork, before being elected to the Senate in 2020. His challenger served more than 12 years as a Suffolk County legislator before being term-limited out.
Christine Sampson
Mr. Schiavoni, a Southampton Town councilman, bested Stephen Kiely, a North Fork resident and attorney who serves as the Shelter Island Town attorney, with nearly 56 percent of the vote.
Elsewhere on the ballot, East Hampton Town Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte won a special election to serve another year on the town board against a candidate who had suspended his campaign but whose name remained on the ballot. East Hampton voters approved a proposition that will allow the town to remove the property sometimes called the Sherrill Triangle from the list of town nature preserves. This will make it available for future road improvements at the busy intersection of North Main Street with Springs-Fireplace and Three Mile Harbor Roads in East Hampton.
Statewide, voters approved Proposition 1, the equal rights amendment, which aimed to protect reproductive rights in the State Constitution, among other things. County voters also approved Proposition 2, which would increase the county sales tax by one-eighth of a cent to fund water quality improvement projects across the county.
