Board removes Patrick Halpin's primary foes, clearing way for Andrew Garbarino matchup in 2nd Congressional District

WASHINGTON — Former Suffolk County Executive Patrick Halpin is on track to avoid any primary opposition in his bid for the Democratic nomination to run against GOP Rep. Andrew Garbarino this fall.

The state Board of Elections has removed Halpin's two potential Democratic foes from the June 23 primary ballot after shortcomings were found in their paperwork, both removals now reflected on the board’s website. 

One of those Democrats, Jessica Murphy, a real estate agent who lives in Amityville, will continue a legal appeal.

But Suffolk County state Supreme Court Justice John J. Leo on Friday enjoined the state from printing Murphy’s name on the Democratic primary ballot for New York’s 2nd Congressional District seat, now held by Garbarino (R-Bayport). The district runs mostly along Long Island’s South Shore and includes parts of Suffolk and Nassau counties.

Leo determined after a line-by-line review of 1,380 of Murphy’s ballot petition signatures — the number an elections board official initially found valid — that 156 were invalid. That left her with 1,224 valid signatures, barely short of the 1,250 required to qualify.

The other potential Halpin foe, Garrett Petersen, deputy chair of the Islip Town Democratic Committee, has suspended his campaign. The state elections board said its staff had found in reviewing two separate challenges that at least 70 of the signatures were invalid, leaving him no more than 1,195 valid. Another found as many as 129 were invalid.

Representatives of the Halpin campaign, which filed about 3,400 signatures for his congressional bid and has qualified for the ballot, had roles in initiating the petition challenges.

Halpin, the Suffolk County executive from 1988 to 1991, said in a statement to Newsday that he respects the appeal process but is confident in the integrity of Leo’s ruling on Murphy’s ballot petition.

Halpin said his "focus remains where it should be: uniting Democrats, focusing our efforts on defeating Andrew Garbarino and fighting to restore the rule of law, protect affordable healthcare, defend civil rights, safeguard Social Security and improve the quality of life on the South Shore."

There was no immediate response from Garbarino.

Meanwhile, Erica Miller, a senior adviser to the Murphy campaign, cast the ongoing legal effort as about whether voters get to decide elections, or whether "political insiders" can use procedural technicalities — like if a signature was printed rather than in cursive — "to silence voters."

A statement from Murphy said she is going door to door to reconnect with voters whose signatures were challenged and is collecting signed affirmations confirming their intent.

Nonpartisan political analyst The Cook Political Report rates the district as solidly Republican, noting it moved rightward by about 12 percentage points between the 2020 and 2024 presidential contests.

The latest filings with the Federal Election Commission show incumbent Garbarino, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, with a huge campaign dollar advantage as of March 31. His campaign reported having raised more than $2.4 million this election cycle, with $2.7 now in the bank. Halpin's reported raising $374,867, with $74,896 remaining.