2nd Democrat weighs run against Representative Lee Zeldin

A scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory has become the second Democrat to weigh a run against Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin.

Elaine DiMasi, 48, of Ronkonkoma, has met with Suffolk Democratic chairman Richard Schaffer to express interest in running for the First District seat. DiMasi joins another potential Zeldin foe, Vivian Viloria-Fisher, a former Democratic Suffolk County legislator.

DiMasi is a physicist who works on the National Synchrotron Light Source II and also designs, builds and maintains equipment for experiments done by 3,000 visiting scientists. She said she is weighing a run as a private citizen.

“I’ve been heartbroken to see all the divisiveness in Congress” said DiMasi, noting that as a scientist she is trained “to look at all sides of an argument and to tell the truth because that’s what solves problems.”

DiMasi has never run for office before. She is part of a new political action committee, 314 Action, named after the mathematical constant pi. The PAC has trained more than 3,000 scientists nationwide to run in local races.

DiMasi said she expects to make a final decision on running this summer.