Democrat Olena Nicks declares victory in special election for Nassau County's District 2 seat
Olena Nicks, left, and Karin Campbell are running in a special election to fill the District 2 seat in the Nassau County Legislature. Credit: James Escher
Democrat Olena Nicks has declared victory in Tuesday's special election to fill Nassau County's District 2 seat once held by now state Sen. Siela Bynoe.
Nicks and Republican Karin Campbell squared off Tuesday for the seat that covers Westbury, New Cassel and Hempstead.
"I'm excited, I'm looking forward to a brighter future in Nassau County," Nicks told Newsday Tuesday, over an hour after polls closed, adding she planned to work "across the aisle" once inside the legislative chambers in Mineola.
Unofficial results from the Nassau County Board of Elections show Nicks leading Campbell with nearly 87% of the vote.
"Sadly, my campaign was not able to surmount the significant Democratic voter enrollment advantage, and we came up short [Tuesday night]," Campbell wrote in a statement to Newsday.
Tuesday's election followed nine days of early voting that began on Feb. 15 and ended Feb. 23.
Nicks, a Uniondale High School graduate, is an elected trustee of the Uniondale Public Library and a committee member for the Uniondale school district. Nicks holds a bachelor’s degree in business operations from Baruch College and an MBA from American University.
When Bynoe was elected to the seat in 2014, she won 80% of the vote in the Democratic stronghold, one of Nassau’s "majority-minority" areas where more than 50% of residents are nonwhite. In District 2, 40% of residents are Hispanic and 23% are Black, according to census figures.
Bynoe was elected to represent the 6th Senate District, making her the first Black state senator to represent a part of Long Island. Parts of the Senate district overlap with Bynoe's old district seat. Her Senate victory had prompted the special election.
For the 2026 election, District 2 will update its borders under Nassau’s newly released legislative map. The district will lose Uniondale and take in Hicksville, but its demographic makeup will still remain "majority-minority."
Correction: The article has been updated to reflect which candidate served as president and trustee for the Westbury school board.
Democrat Olena Nicks has declared victory in Tuesday's special election to fill Nassau County's District 2 seat once held by now state Sen. Siela Bynoe.
Nicks and Republican Karin Campbell squared off Tuesday for the seat that covers Westbury, New Cassel and Hempstead.
"I'm excited, I'm looking forward to a brighter future in Nassau County," Nicks told Newsday Tuesday, over an hour after polls closed, adding she planned to work "across the aisle" once inside the legislative chambers in Mineola.
Unofficial results from the Nassau County Board of Elections show Nicks leading Campbell with nearly 87% of the vote.
"Sadly, my campaign was not able to surmount the significant Democratic voter enrollment advantage, and we came up short [Tuesday night]," Campbell wrote in a statement to Newsday.
Tuesday's election followed nine days of early voting that began on Feb. 15 and ended Feb. 23.
Nicks, a Uniondale High School graduate, is an elected trustee of the Uniondale Public Library and a committee member for the Uniondale school district. Nicks holds a bachelor’s degree in business operations from Baruch College and an MBA from American University.
When Bynoe was elected to the seat in 2014, she won 80% of the vote in the Democratic stronghold, one of Nassau’s "majority-minority" areas where more than 50% of residents are nonwhite. In District 2, 40% of residents are Hispanic and 23% are Black, according to census figures.
Bynoe was elected to represent the 6th Senate District, making her the first Black state senator to represent a part of Long Island. Parts of the Senate district overlap with Bynoe's old district seat. Her Senate victory had prompted the special election.
For the 2026 election, District 2 will update its borders under Nassau’s newly released legislative map. The district will lose Uniondale and take in Hicksville, but its demographic makeup will still remain "majority-minority."
Correction: The article has been updated to reflect which candidate served as president and trustee for the Westbury school board.
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