Bynoe wins as results pour in for Long Island Democratic state and local primaries

State Senate primary contenders, from left, Siela Bynoe, and Taylor Darling. Credit: James Escher

By Candice Ferrettecandice.ferrette@newsday.com candiceferretteUpdated June 26, 2024

Nassau County Legis. Siela Bynoe defeated Assemb. Taylor Darling in Tuesday's Democratic primary, vying for the chance to be Long Island's first Black state Senator.

Nassau's 6th Senate District race between Bynoe (D-Westbury) and Darling (D-Hempstead) was among the Democratic primaries in five State Legislature and two town races in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Bynoe will face Republican candidate Thomas Montefinise, of Oceanside, a deputy Nassau County attorney, in the general election in November.

Polls closed in both counties at 9 p.m. There were no Republican primaries in either county.

Wednesday morning, the Nassau County Board of Elections was reporting that will all of the vote counted in SD6, Bynoe held a 53% to 46% margin.

State and Nassau County Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs said Bynoe would be "an excellent" state senator.

"I have no doubt she will work tirelessly and produce real results for her constituents," Jacobs said.

Bynoe, 56, was elected to the county legislature in a special election in 2014. She is serving a fifth full term and is the alternate deputy minority leader. Darling, 40, is serving her third term in the Assembly, a seat she gave up to run for Senate.

"Throughout this campaign I have been so blessed and overwhelmed by the support I've received," Bynoe said before the polls closed. "Today alone we've had more than a hundred volunteers knocking on doors and calling their neighbors to come and vote."

The district, which has been represented since 2019 by Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown), leans Democratic and covers the communities of Westbury, Garden City, Hempstead, Freeport and parts of Oceanside and Mineola.

Thomas is not running for reelection after redrawn legislative lines moved his home outside the district in 2022.

"I feel very much at peace today and have been excited about what my team and I have been able to deliver," Darling said on Tuesday. "My love for this community is always intense but I woke up with even more gratitude for what we've done here today and over my three terms in the Assembly."

Darling leaves the 18th Assembly District where a primary between Noah Burroughs of Hempstead and Lisa Ortiz of Lakeview was won by Burroughs.

There are 100,499 registered Democrats and 46,137 registered Republicans in the 6th district, according to voter data.

The primaries give Democrats an opportunity to vote for the candidate they deem best to face Republicans in the general election on Nov. 5.

Following are the results in the other Democratic primaries:

Nassau County

Senate District 7: Kimberly G. Keiserman, of Port Washington, a former high school history and government teacher who works as an education consultant, beat Brad Schwartz, of Roslyn, who works in policy research and commercial real estate management.

Assembly District 18: Noah Burroughs, of Hempstead, a village trustee and teacher in the Hempstead school district, was leading Lisa Ortiz, of Lakeview, founder of a child care center and president of the Lakeview Library board of trustees.

Assembly District 21: Judy A. Griffin, of Rockville Centre, who represented the district in the Assembly from 2019 to 2022, beat Patricia Maher, of Baldwin, an advertising executive.

Suffolk County

Assembly District 4: Rebecca Kassay, a former deputy mayor of the Village of Port Jefferson, beat Skyler Johnson, of Port Jefferson Station, who has worked in development for a national nonprofit seeking to end drug overdoses.

Shelter Island Town Council: Arnott G. Gooding, chairman of the town’s Community Preservation Fund advisory committee for eight years defeated Robert V. Waife, a bayman and founder of Eel Town Oysters.

Riverhead Town Justice: William Condon, of Aquebogue, a Suffolk County Court judge for 14 years, defeated Sean Walter, of Wading River, a former Riverhead Town supervisor who was elected as town justice in 2020.