Congressional primary races to be held Tuesday

Voters will go to the polls Tuesday to decide party nominees in three Republican and two Democratic primaries for Congress in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the districts with intraparty races. While state primaries are held in September, federal primaries are held in June to ensure military ballots can be counted.

In the 1st Congressional District in Suffolk, State Sen. Lee Zeldin of Shirley faces George Demos, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer from Stony Brook, in a Republican primary for the right to take on Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) in November.

In Nassau County, District Attorney Kathleen Rice of Garden City is vying with Nassau legislative Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams of Freeport for the Democratic nomination for retiring Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's 4th District seat.

Bruce Blakeman, a part-time private legal consultant and a former Nassau legislative presiding officer from Long Beach, faces attorney Frank Scaturro of New Hyde Park in a Republican primary in the 4th District.

Stephen Labate, an Iraq War veteran and financial planner from Deer Park, faces Lloyd Harbor lawyer Grant Lally in a 3rd District Republican primary for the right to take on Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) in November.

Veteran Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of St. Albans, Queens, faces Joseph Marthone, an accountant from Jamaica, Queens, in the 5th District. The district has about 55,000 voters in Nassau, but is primarily Queens-based.

Voters seeking information about where to vote or whether there is a primary in their district can call the Nassau County Board of Elections at 516-571-2411, or the Suffolk County Board of Elections at 631-852-4500.