Credit: James Escher

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BACKGROUND

  • Martins, 57, of Old Westbury, is running on the Republican Party line in the general election. He is seeking reelection to a second term.
  • He represented the district from 2011 through 2016. He has served as Mineola mayor and ran unsuccessfully for Nassau County executive and Congress. He returned to the State Senate after defeating Anna Kaplan in 2022.  
  • Martins is a lawyer who graduated from St. John’s University School of Law. He got his undergraduate degree from American University in Washington, D.C.

ISSUES

  • Martins said he believes the Democrats worsened a “self-made” migrant crisis. He co-sponsored legislation to prohibit the housing of migrants on school grounds. 
  • He opposes Gov. Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing plan and says fare-evading is costing taxpayers $700 million a year. 
  • Martins said Democrats are trying to undermine local zoning laws by forcing high-rise buildings and eliminating single-family houses, which he said will result in overcrowded schools, parking problems, burdened local utilities and eventual tax increases. 

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