Voter turnout very low in congressional primaries in Nassau, Suffolk

Turnout among Long Island's Democratic and Republican voters was extremely low Tuesday night for four primaries for Congress as candidates more aligned with the political establishment won pivotal contests.

Tuesday's races were unusual in that it was the second primary contest of the summer and that three Long Island House seats on the ballot lacked incumbents running for reelection.

Turnout among Nassau Democratic voters was 10.9%, according to Nassau Democratic Elections Commissioner James Scheuerman. Almost two months ago, in the June 28 primary for governor, Democratic turnout was 14.2%.

In the 4th Congressional District, former Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen defeated three opponents in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City). In the 3rd District, longtime public relations executive and Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman defeated four Democrats in his bid to succeed Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who did not seek reelection.
In Suffolk, turnout among Republicans was 14.71% in the 1st District, where former Suffolk GOP Elections Commissioner Nick LaLota won a three-way race for the seat now held by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), who did not seek reelection and is running for governor.

In the 2nd District, turnout among Suffolk Republicans was 12.89% as Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) defeated two challengers.

In the June primary for governor, GOP turnout in Suffolk totaled 20.24%, according to data from the county's election board.

Party chairmen in both counties said the four winners leveraged their connections to key political groups and players, including labor and trade unions, and played a good ground game at a time when voters were not focused on a second summer primary.

State and Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs, who did not endorse a candidate, said Gillen and Zimmerman benefited from their relationships with voters and leaders of their communities. 

"The fact that [Gillen] had been the supervisor, she had connections to certain Democratic committee people, and the party took no position, which, basically said to all of those that tend to support the party's view: You could do what you want. A lot of them went with Laura Gillen, a lot of them went with Robert Zimmerman."

And Jacobs said Zimmerman's win "demonstrated that an establishment candidate has strengths." 

Gillen told Newsday on Wednesday that voters remembered her tenure as Hempstead supervisor, the first Democrat to hold that office in more than a century. She made fighting corruption in the longtime GOP stronghold a key theme of her administration. She served one term, from 2018 until 2020.

"I think that people remember me for that. I think that the party faithful, no matter what happened in terms of an endorsement from the party chairman, they saw the fight that I put up, and I think that they were loyal to me," she said.

Experts said Zimmerman, of Great Neck, was seemingly all over the North Shore district. He sought votes at North Shore Towers in Queens and Plainview's Country Pointe development. He appeared with various retired or current leaders of schools, boards of education, and town councils.

And last month, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed him in a Tweet. 

"You get Hillary Clinton to come out and say she supports you, that's a big deal. And I wouldn't be surprised if that didn't move the needle several points for him," Jacobs said.

Unlike in Nassau, the Suffolk Republican Committee made formal endorsements, backing Garbarino for a second term and also LaLota.

Jesse Garcia, the Suffolk Republican Chairman, told Newsday the party's committee members played a key role in boosting turnout.

“My goal is to have this committee drive the turnout, because if we drive the turnout, we know who’s coming out," Garcia said.

In June, the Suffolk committee put Zeldin's name on campaign signs with Vincent Puleo, the party's candidate for county clerk. The pairing helped Puleo, the town clerk in Smithtown, defeat longtime GOP incumbent Judith Pascale, Garcia said.

Part of the challenge this month was to boost awareness of the second primary, and to connect Zeldin as part of the same team as LaLota and Garbarino.

“It did not have the same fanfare as it did in June when we had Lee Zeldin on the top of the ticket," Garcia said Wednesday. “We had people who did not know there was another primary.” 

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.