Election 2026

When the Suffolk County Democratic Committee holds its 2026 convention this month, committee members will vote on who will lead the committee going forward: its longstanding chairman, or a challenger who pledges to end what she calls a culture of patronage and corruption. 

Chris Gallant, who won the Democratic primary election last week and will face Representative Nick LaLota in November, calls CD-1 “a very flippable district.”

“I don’t know how to respond,” Jerry Larsen said after hearing about the effort taking shape a little over a week after his Democratic primary loss to Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. “I don't want to discourage them, but I’m not actively campaigning."

She was endorsed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni, County Legislator Ann Welker, and by three of four East Hampton Town Board members, and on Tuesday night, Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez won the endorsement of Democratic voters.

Chris Gallant, an Army National Guard pilot, former air traffic controller, union leader, and volunteer firefighter, is the apparent winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary for New York’s First Congressional District, having defeated Lukas Ventouras.

A list of voting spots by election district.

In an uncommon local political occurrence that will shape the immediate future of East Hampton Town’s Democratic Party, Democratic voters are faced this month with a choice for the two committee members in each of the town’s 19 election districts. 

Former East Hampton Town Councilman Jeff Bragman, who screened with the Democratic Committee over the winter to be considered as its nominee for town supervisor this fall, has endorsed Mayor Jerry Larsen in his primary race against the incumbent, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez.

Ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary for East Hampton Town supervisor, both campaigns came under fire for separate matters related to water contamination by “forever chemicals.” 

Early voting in advance of the June 23 Democratic primary begins on Saturday and will continue through June 21 at the Windmill Village community room.

The two Democratic candidates vying to challenge Representative Nick LaLota in New York’s First Congressional District did not criticize each other, but rather were in near-total agreement and pledged to work together in the midterm election campaign, in a sedate debate on June 8.

East Hampton Town Councilman Tom Flight and Francis Bock, the town trustees' presiding officer, endorsed Jerry Larsen's campaign for town supervisor on Sunday in Montauk, a potentially seismic event in a campaign that pits the incumbent supervisor, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, against the East Hampton Village mayor in the June 23 Democratic primary.

With less than a month before the primary that will provide the Democratic Party with its nominee for East Hampton Town supervisor, both candidates are similarly funded.

A mostly cordial debate on May 13 that centered on affordable housing and recent woes at the East Hampton Town Building Department likely gave both Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez and her Democratic primary challenger, Mayor Jerry Larsen, an opportunity to claim victory. 

According to recent filings made to the Suffolk County Board of Elections, East Hampton Mayor Jerry Larsen has returned $33,000 in donations made to his Jerry Larsen for Town Supervisor campaign following the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee’s accusation after his January filing that he had accepted donations over the legal limit.

Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez Monday morning, just two days before her high-stakes debate with East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, who has run a tough Democratic primary race against the incumbent.

The New York State Democratic Committee issued a list of elected officials in Suffolk and Nassau Counties who have endorsed Gov. Kathy Hochul for re-election, in an announcement that coincided with the launch of an effort to tie Nassau Executive Bruce Blakeman, her Republican opponent, to President Trump.

It’s unclear who will win the June 23 Democratic primary for East Hampton Town supervisor, but one thing about the 2026 supervisor race became clear last week: As in 2025, there will be no Republican candidate on the November ballot.

The challenges were many for the scores of candidates seeking to fill 38 slots on the Democratic Committee when they gathered signatures between late February and early April as the June 23 primary looms.

In the Democratic primary race for town supervisor, the incumbent, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, touted a series of endorsements from party figures this week, while her opponent, Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, said the only endorsements that matter will be those made by voters.

Sag Harbor residents were the first on the East End to try out new, all-digital voting machines unveiled by the Suffolk County Board of Elections last week in anticipation of the June 23 primaries.

The Jerry Larsen for Supervisor campaign committee gave back an undisclosed sum of money to donors this week, after the Suffolk County Democratic Committee accused the campaign on Feb. 4 of accepting donations in excess of what is allowed by law.

East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, who is running a Democratic primary campaign against Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, the incumbent, has backed a full slate of 38 challengers to the current Democratic Committee, with hopes to unseat as many members as possible.

Thus far, one big advantage Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez has received from becoming the chosen candidate of the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee at its Jan. 14 nominating convention is that it and the Suffolk County Democratic Committee have since been attacking her primary opponent, Village Mayor Jerry Larsen.

Jerry Larsen’s campaign touted $132,000 raised between Sept. 9 and Dec. 16 last year, calling it “the largest fund-raising total ever recorded” in a race for the East Hampton Town supervisor seat. Some donors gave as much as $5,000, which the Suffolk County Democratic Committee alleges violated state election law. 

Christopher Gallant, a non-politician from Amity Harbor who announced his bid last summer after John Avlon said he wouldn’t run again in 2026, seems to be emerging as the candidate to face Nick LaLota, and he has Mr. Avlon’s support.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez will once again be the Democratic candidate for supervisor come November, after placing first in votes at the Democratic Committee nominating convention Wednesday night.

Days after Mayor Jerry Larsen was sent a “cease and desist” letter from state, county, and town Democratic officials who asserted that his East Hampton Town Democrats for a New Town group constituted a “misuse of the Democratic Party name,” he and the chairwoman of the town’s Democratic Committee met and agreed to “lower the temperature.”

Playing on the name of his East Hampton Village NewTown Party, Mayor Jerry Larsen has launched a website to promote the “East Hampton Town Democrats for a New Town,” as he sets off in a probable primary battle against Democratic Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez.

With the 2025 election in the rearview mirror, East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen has officially announced plans to challenge newly re-elected Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez for the Democratic nomination in 2026.