Gary Berntsen registers to vote in Port Jefferson

Congressional contender Gary Berntsen, who sat for a screening interview with Republican officials earlier this month, has finally registered to vote locally.

Berntsen, a former CIA official, author, and anti-terrorism TV expert, had his election registration processed last week, using Port Jefferson as his home address, according to election officials. Before signing up to vote locally, he had been registered in Forest Hills, though he was raised in Smithtown.

He becomes the last of the current crop of GOP arrivals looking to challenge Rep. Timothy Bishop (D-Southampton). Christopher Nixon Cox, grandson of late president President Richard Nixon and son of state GOP chairman Edward Cox, registered earlier this month using the address of his family's summer Westhampton Beach home. Cox also touts his grandfather on his father's side was once a deputy sheriff. - Rick Brand