Siela Bynoe wins in 6th State Senate District over Thomas Montefinise

Democratic Nassau Legis. Siela Bynoe was victorious in her bid Tuesday to become Long Island’s first Black woman to serve in the State Senate.

Bynoe, 57, of Westbury, who has served in the GOP-controlled Nassau County Legislature for 10 years, beat Thomas Montefinise, 32, of Oceanside, a deputy county attorney in the Municipal Transaction Bureau in the Office of the Nassau County Attorney.

"Thank you to countless volunteers, our friends in labor and everyone who came out and voted today. I’m hopeful that we will win tonight and grateful for all the support our campaign has received," Bynoe said in a statement earlier in the evening before her win was assured.

The contest was one of five key State Senate races and 12 districts for the state Assembly that were at stake Tuesday in Nassau.

Among the key issues in the race was the future of the financially troubled Nassau University Medical Center and a possible casino at the site of the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale.

Bynoe defeated Assemb. Taylor Darling in a Democratic primary in June to replace incumbent State Sen. Kevin Thomas, who decided not to run for reelection, in part due to the redrawing of the 6th District.

In Nassau’s 7th State Senate District, located on the county’s North Shore, GOP State Sen. Jack Martins, 57, of Old Westbury, won over Democrat Kim Keiserman, 53, of Port Washington.

Martins attributed his victory to dissatisfied Democratic voters and Republicans reaching across the aisle.

"People are dissatisfied with the direction of the country, certainly of the state. People in Nassau County feel it every day," Martins said. "They're looking for common sense, leadership … and that's what we've provided for years."

Martins, a former Mineola mayor, is serving his second tenure in the State Senate — he represented the district from 2011 through 2016, ran unsuccessfully for Nassau County executive and Congress and was then reelected again in 2022.

"This was not the outcome we wanted, but I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done to continue organizing for reproductive freedom, gun safety, our environment, increased affordability, and fully funded public schools here in Nassau County," said Keiserman, a first-time candidate, former social studies teacher and member of the North Hempstead Housing Authority.

Democrats, who have a solid control of both chambers, were looking to expand their majorities Tuesday while Republicans were looking to cut into those advantages.

On the campaign trail, the candidates have focused on taxes, education, water quality, rail service and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s now-scrapped congestion pricing plan.

In the 18th Assembly District, Democrat Noah Burroughs, a former player for the New York Jets, captured an open seat in Hempstead, defeating Republican Danielle Samantha Smikle, 27, of Freeport, a high school teacher at a charter school in Uniondale.

Burroughs, 48, of Hempstead Village, who teaches history in the Hempstead Union Free School District and has been a Hempstead Village trustee since 2022, will succeed Darling, who did not seek reelection.

In the 21st Assembly District, Democrat Judy Griffin, 61, of Rockville Centre, beat longtime rival Republican Assemb. Brian Curran, 56, of Lynbrook, in their third head-to-head race in the past six years. Curran won the seat in 2010 and held it until 2018, when Griffin unseated him. Four years later, Curran returned, beating Griffin by 138 votes.

With John Asbury and Candice Ferrette

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.