NY 2nd CD Candidates Respond To Unofficial Results

LONG ISLAND, NY — While absentee ballots still need to be taken into to account, after Tuesday's election Andrew Garbarino and Jackie Gordon are in the lead to be on the ballot this November to represent New York's second Congressional district. The seat was occupied by longtime longtime U.S. Rep. Pete King, who announced in November he will not be seeking re-election this year.

Due to the coronavirus, local board of elections have reported receiving a historic amount of absentee ballots for the primary election, which are expected to be counted in the coming weeks. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by June 23, 2020 and received by the Board of Elections no later than June 30, 2020 to be counted, as per New York State Election Law Section 8-412(1).

However, some residents still hit the polls on Tuesday to cast their votes.

The unofficial final results showed that Andrew Garbarino beat out Mike LiPetri for the Republican ballot, while Jackie Gordon beat out Patricia Maher for the Democratic ballot.

Click here to see the results.

"First and foremost I want to thank the voters who showed up in every corner of the district to support our campaign. I am humbled that so many have placed their trust in me to win in November and take the fight to Washington," Garbarino said in a statement. "I also must thank Chairman Joseph G. Cairo Jr. and Nassau County Republican Committee, as well as Chairman Jesse Garcia and the Suffolk County Republican Committee, for their unwavering support and hard work. Finally, I want to thank Congressman Pete King for not only his support in this race, but also for his many years of faithful service to Long Island. I am truly honored to have him in my corner. I’m proud of this victory, and even more proud of our campaign. However, this is just the beginning. We have to build on this momentum and carry it through to November! “

King, who has endorsed Garbarino to take over his seat, extended his congratulations via a Facebook post.

"I was proud to support Andrew in the Primary and look forward to his successful campaign and victory on Election Day in November," King wrote.

In addition, LiPetri released the following statement in response to the results:

"We had a great showing in yesterday’s Republican primary and despite currently being behind, there are still thousands of absentee ballots to be counted in the coming days," he wrote. "We entered this race knowing that every vote counts and we will not rest until every vote is counted - the voters and our supporters deserve nothing less."

In a statement, Gordon said she is honored to be the Democratic nominee for New York's Second Congressional District.

"I'm running for Congress because Washington is broken. While Long Islanders struggle to pay for health care and make ends meet, career politicians in Washington are cozying up to big corporations and voting in their interests, even when it hurts working families," the statement read. "The past few months have shown us that we need a leader in Congress who will fight to make health care and prescription drugs more affordable, expand access to career and technical training, and rebuild our economy by supporting small businesses. I’m humbled by the tremendous grassroots support we’ve received across the district, and I am energized to continue this momentum into November."

Maher said that she was informed by Suffolk County Democratic Commissioner, Anita Katz, that she was unable to see the individual election district results due to a computer error in printing the results. She also said the Nassau County Board of Elections told her they are still counting the machine votes.

"It was an unusual primary because of the social distancing and lack of in-person contact with voters," she said in a statement. "However, residents told me a lot of personal things about their lives and I still want to make sure they are helped. I am in this for the long run to make sure residents in CD 02 have healthcare, can afford to live, pay their taxes and have clean water. I've been a civic leader for years helping residents of Long Island."