Hopefuls for a Dem primary to challenge Zeldin begin to surface

The race for Rep. Lee Zeldin’s 1st District seat is still 16 months away, but a grueling yearlong gauntlet toward a June 2020 Democratic primary for the right to challenge the Shirley Republican is likely to begin in the next few weeks.

Businessman Perry Gershon, who ran a respectable but losing multimillion-dollar race last year against Zeldin, a close ally of President Donald Trump, announced in April his candidacy for a rematch. His early launch came around the same time the name of Stony Brook University chemistry department chairwoman, Nancy Goroff, first surfaced as a potential congressional contender

Goroff said she is “exploring” entering the race, but may have already tipped her intentions, taking an 18-month university leave of absence. She is expected to announce her candidacy by mid-July.

A third potential contender is also in the wings — attorney Jack Harrington, the party’s 2017 Brookhaven supervisor candidate and Yale Law School graduate, who has just returned from Navy Reserve duty in Afghanistan. Harrington, 36, of Stony Brook, met with Suffolk Democratic chairman Rich Schaffer last week and expressed strong interest in running, according to party sources. Harrington did not return calls for comment.

Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman, said the early start may end up “a pleasant surprise” because it will “give the party time to vet contenders and see if they can come behind one candidate. This time around, a primary might not be the best thing. “

However, Jesse Garcia, new Suffolk GOP chairman, expects a prolonged “Democratic scrum where candidates will try to out-left each other … and show who is closer to Bill de Blasio,” referring to New York City’s mayor. “It will all come to naught because Lee Zeldin has been an effective leader, who has demonstrated it every day.”

The impending contest comes after ex-Suffolk Republican chairman John Jay LaValle, an avid Trump backer, lost his bid for Port Jefferson mayor, a contest in which grassroots progressives were active in highlighting his ties to the president. The first district, dominated by Brookhaven but which takes in all of the East End and part of Smithtown, has traditionally been a swing district that has changed parties a half dozen times since 1960.

Gershon said Port Jefferson results show voters “are fed up with Trump” and ready for a change. “Trump has lost his magic and Lee Zeldin, attaching himself to Trump, makes him particularly vulnerable.” 

Gershon, 57, who was unknown when he moved full-time to East Hampton to run his last race, said he is now battle-tested and continues to work hard to make himself better known, and has put 54,000 miles on his Ford Volt traveling around the district. “I’m better known, I’ve shown I can motivate people to turn out and we saw more volunteers in my race than the district ever had before,” he said.

Goroff, 51, of Stony Brook, said, “As a scientist, I’m very experienced at solving complex problems and know you need the best information to solve them,” she said. “Republicans are ignoring the best information out there and are not trying to tackle the real problems.“ Goroff said she will listen to voters to “find out what is important to them, advocate for them and be their voice.” 

Party officials say Gershon, who spent more than $2 million of his own money and spent a total of more than $5 million in his last campaign, has the financial capacity for the race. They also say Goroff has indicated the ability to self-fund as an ex-spouse of a Renaissance Technologies executive. She said only that she will be “competitive to make a compelling case.”

But Schaffer does not discount Harrington because of his service as a military veteran and his Brookhaven roots, even though he raised just $87,000 in an uphill race he lost to popular GOP Town Supervisor Edward P. Romaine, 62 to 38 percent.

 “Zeldin is no Romaine,” Schaffer said. “Romaine is a well-established, highly thought of elected official. Zeldin is minority backbencher, who caucuses with some of the most extreme GOP elements.”

Garcia countered that Zeldin outshines all Democratic contenders: “As a well-regarded advocate for Long Island with a record of accomplishment, Lee Zeldin is second to none.”