Find out the candidates the editorial board chose and why as endorsements are published throughout October.

Opinion

Endorsements

2026endorsementsNYSSSG

The Editorial Board

This year's statewide election&nbsp;in New York highlights the sharp geographic and partisan contrasts between the interests of politicians from suburban and rural districts on one side and those from New York City and upstate urban centers on the other. 
The Democrats' 40-22 majority in the New York State Senate differs from&nbsp;the partisan scenario on Long Island, where seven&nbsp;of nine&nbsp;seats belong to Republicans. But two of the seven GOP seats have no incumbent running on the Nov. 3 ballot because&nbsp;Jack Martins and Alexis Weik are leaving the State Senate. 
At the Capitol, Democrats are currently two seats short of&nbsp;a two-thirds supermajority in the upper chamber. One seat in Queens is vacant and a safe bet to remain Democratic. Getting to 42 would&nbsp;give the dominant party&nbsp;the ability to override gubernatorial vetoes. Democrats&nbsp;already have a supermajority in the Assembly which is not likely to change this fall. 
If GOP Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman becomes governor in an upset, he'd need all the legislative support he can muster to govern effectively. That's why Republicans have an extra incentive this year&nbsp;to expand their numbers. 
Several Democratic Senate candidates from Long Island argue that Nassau and Suffolk counties benefit from having as many representatives as possible in their entrenched party. Still, New York Republicans maintain that&nbsp;even in the minority, their opposition to left-leaning policies in Albany serves as an important bulwark for balance in a polarized time. 
The broader agendas of the Long Island candidates mainly reflect the current policies of their parties. That includes taxes, green energy, the limits of cashless bail, approaches to housing development, and the decades-long tension over the state mandating programs for which localities must pay. 
But based on the editorial board's interviews with candidates from both parties, there appear to be opportunities for suburban representatives to wield&nbsp;power —&nbsp;through coalitions on issues of interest to their constituents. Candidates across Nassau and Suffolk expressed the importance of sewer construction to accommodate growth and residential housing, as well as water quality improvements&nbsp;and coastal resiliency. 
Even after giving bipartisan support in Albany to pension gains for state and local employees by expanding&nbsp;Tier 6 benefits, most of those running wish to keep the current&nbsp;property tax cap; some favor&nbsp;calibrating it to cover&nbsp;increasing costs on local governments. 
From one district to the next, we heard in our conversations about specific&nbsp;local concerns&nbsp;and how state dollars can address them, from&nbsp;infrastructure problems such as&nbsp;roads and&nbsp;bulkheads to refurbished parks, education funding,&nbsp;and the need to modernize technology used by the public. 
It's always in the realm of these very specific problems, not slogans and rhetoric, that government can work. Our endorsements are based on who we believe will work most effectively to achieve the best results for Long Island.

Editorials

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State Senate election endorsements overview

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As a member of the State Senate's Republican leadership, incumbent&nbsp;Anthony H. Palumbo, 56, of New Suffolk, plays a key role on criminal justice matters as well as ably serving the needs of his district, the easternmost on Long Island.&nbsp; 
Awaiting signature by the governor is a bill he carried allowing Riverhead Town to lease a former state armory to the YMCA of Long Island to provide recreational and community services.&nbsp;Another accomplishment this session was passing a law that overrides arbitrary decisions by a guardian that prevent family and friends from visiting someone under guardianship. He has repeatedly sought tribal&nbsp;recognition for the Montaukett Indian Nation and help for&nbsp;the district's vital fishing and aquaculture industries. 
A former Suffolk County prosecutor and the ranking Republican on the Senate codes and judiciary committees, Palumbo has positioned himself as a moderating force&nbsp;on the Democratic majority’s criminal justice agenda,&nbsp;arguing that some&nbsp;recent reforms have gone too far in favoring&nbsp;defendants over victims and public safety. 
Democratic challenger E. Christopher Murray, 63,&nbsp;of East Setauket, is&nbsp;a law firm partner&nbsp;with a special focus on environmental and real estate&nbsp;law along with an&nbsp;impressive record of pro bono representation. As a former chairman of the Suffolk County Community College board of trustees, Murray said he would push for more funding for higher education. 
He seeks to lower the state sales tax and replace that revenue with an income tax increase on the top 8% of state earners. He also supports replacing private health insurance with&nbsp;a single-payer state system based on&nbsp;one's ability to pay. At&nbsp;times, Murray sounds like he is running against the Trump administration, pledging to fight battles&nbsp;not necessarily waged in Albany. 
Palumbo, who is seeking his fourth term, says&nbsp;government isn’t the answer to every need and that when the state does well and has more revenue, it should reduce taxes, not find ways to spend it. 
Palumbo has made his mark as an outspoken opponent of an effort&nbsp;by the left to pressure judges to be more lenient in sentencing&nbsp;criminal defendants.&nbsp;Palumbo led the pushback in 2023 against the sabotaging of the nomination of appellate judge Hector LaSalle as chief of the state's top court for not meeting a liberal checklist.&nbsp;With another opening on the top court due next year,&nbsp;Palumbo's voice will be needed to ensure that Court of Appeals judges are selected&nbsp;for&nbsp;their impartiality, not their political agenda.&nbsp; 
Newsday Opinion endorses Palumbo.

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Anthony H. Palumbo for State Senate District 1

Newsday Opinion endorses Palumbo for State Senate District 1

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Republican Mario R. Mattera, 63, of St. James, is seeking his fourth term in the State Senate. This year Mattera faces Democrat Harjot Singh, 50, of Dix Hills, a lawyer and small-business owner who is making his first run for elected office. 
Mattera has a labor background, boasting decades of leadership in Plumbers Local Union No. 200. From the GOP minority in the Capitol's upper chamber, Mattera raises oppositional questions about the energy policies under the Democratic Party's control that need to be answered. 
He challenges the planned Propel transmission line until an energy source can be identified. He sees the state's ambitions of green energy goals and quick pressure for EV school buses as impractical and even counterproductive. 
He voted against the bill calling for a moratorium on AI data centers, for fear the state will fall behind in the new technology. 
On the state budget, Mattera emphatically echoes the GOP legislative minority's essential suburban and rural upstate messaging when he protests that after the legislature voted on a $268 billion budget, billions more were committed to close deficits in New York City and other cities. 
Mattera pays close attention to infrastructure, a prevailing issue in the 2nd District. He emphasizes the need to speed up sewer construction to allow for new housing, and is committed to channeling available funds to build sewers. He championed the state funding to replace Asharoken's deteriorating seawall and to raise the main road where flooding is a regular threat. Mattera prioritizes and keeps watch on developments at the former Lawrence Aviation Industries site in Port Jefferson as potential new uses are considered. 
Mattera is a presence in his district and responsive to local needs. 
Singh, a graduate of Boston University's law school, is an attorney with his own practice in Hicksville and in South Richmond Hill in Queens focused on immigration, business, real estate and family law. In our interview Singh's most salient message was constructive but general: Develop housing and high-tech jobs to keep another crop of educated young adults from leaving Long Island. 
"Our children are leaving Long Island. They are being priced out. They can't afford to live on Long Island," Singh told the editorial board. To bring industries like biotech and semiconductors here, he said, "first we need to create housing." 
Like many others running for office, he would like to see the tax burden lightened on the middle class to make things more affordable. 
Newsday Opinion endorses Mattera.

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Mario R. Mattera for State Senate District 2

Newsday Opinion endorses Mattera for State Senate District 2

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Dean Murray, who put down political roots during the Tea Party era, has perfected his role as challenging the state's Democratic majority for more than a decade, first in the Assembly and for the past four years in the State Senate. 
A proud penny pincher, the Republican&nbsp;contends the state spends too much money on programs without measuring whether the results justify the costs.&nbsp;Murray is a persistent critic on the Senate floor of&nbsp;Democrats whom he describes as advocates for ideas without much follow-up on how to implement them. "So, will we be able to pay for it," is a frequent and justifiable parry from him. 
Murray, 62,&nbsp;of&nbsp;East Patchogue, believes&nbsp;recent changes in criminal justice laws have allowed too many of those arrested&nbsp;to be released before trial. He would allow judges to consider dangerousness as a factor in determining the conditions&nbsp;of pretrial release.&nbsp;He has long advocated to increase penalties for those who leave a fatal accident, an effort he would continue if reelected to a third Senate term. 
He's a persistent critic of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, opposing&nbsp;congestion pricing and advocating that the Long Island Rail Road replace its grade crossing at William Floyd Parkway with an underpass.&nbsp;And he is seeking more funding to raise &nbsp;the height of homes&nbsp; on the South Shore to make the Tri-Hamlet area more resilient. He supports the state moratorium on data centers until more information can be gleaned about why they are needed and what their energy sources&nbsp;will be, and complains about fraud in the Medicaid payment system.&nbsp; 
Murray says GOP senators, though in the minority, are a&nbsp;suburban counterweight to some Democratic proposals. "We support green energy," Murray told the editorial board, "but not if you are going to ram it down our throats" with impossible mandates and timelines such as the requirement for electric school buses that was postponed for five&nbsp;years in the last session. "It took kicking and screaming to get that done," he said. 
This year's challenger, Democrat&nbsp;Antonio Vargas-Ayala, 49, of&nbsp;Brookhaven, is not actively campaigning. 
Newsday Opinion endorses Murray.

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Dean Murray for State Senate District 3

Newsday Opinion endorses Murray for State Senate District 3

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There are roughly twice as many registered Democrats as registered Republicans in the State Senate's 4th District, and its racial demographics make it a majority-minority district. 
As a member of the majority party in New York State, Democrat Monica R. Martinez finds herself in a different sort of&nbsp;majority-minority in terms of political party affiliation on Long Island. She is one&nbsp;of just two&nbsp;Democrats in Long Island's State Senate delegation, although statewide Democrats are just two&nbsp;seats shy of a supermajority in the chamber. 
But Martinez, 49, of Brentwood, has carved a niche for herself as a Long Island representative who at times stands&nbsp;up to the powerful influence of New York City Democrats, who control much of what gets done in Albany. 
"We're not ... going to just acquiesce to what New York City wants," she told the editorial board, adding, "We had a hard time letting people know that we are different than the city ... we are our own entity and we have different needs ..." 
Martinez is a proponent of increasing the affordable housing stock in her district, especially near mass transit. Like many&nbsp;Long Island officials, she supports expanding sewers, a critical steppingstone to&nbsp;increasing housing supply. 
Martinez told the editorial board she favors reevaluating the&nbsp;complex&nbsp;aid formula for public schools, although she didn't provide specifics aside from noting that there are great disparities between how districts are funded based on the needs of their students. 
Martinez's opponent, Republican Brianne R. Wakefield, 40, of Bay Shore, channels what many families on&nbsp;Long Island worry&nbsp;about:&nbsp;Can their loved ones&nbsp;afford to live here when they grow up?&nbsp;Her community involvement, especially in her church and with&nbsp;the Suffolk County Women's Advisory Commission, is admirable, and she&nbsp;wants to provide volunteer fire departments with needed equipment,&nbsp;make housing more affordable for seniors,&nbsp;and repave Route 111. 
But her ideas often lack the depth needed to craft and pass legislation in Albany that positively impacts people's lives. 
Martinez has proved to be a valuable proponent for her district while navigating Albany politics. 
Newsday Opinion endorses Martinez.

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Monica R. Martinez for State Senate District 4

Newsday Opinion endorses Martinez for State Senate District 4

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Steven D. Rhoads has plenty of criticisms of the Democratic majority in the State Senate. 
But, the Bellmore Republican said, he's always willing to work with members on&nbsp;the other side of the aisle — often behind the scenes — to get things done. 
"It's not about who gets the credit for it," Rhoads said. "It's about the fact that it gets done to improve the lives of the people we represent." 
So, when Rhoads, a volunteer firefighter, wanted legislation to provide free tuition for SUNY, CUNY and community colleges&nbsp;to first responders, he partnered with upstate Democrat Jeremy Cooney, who sponsored the bill. And he joined Cooney&nbsp;on another bill to establish first-time homebuyer&nbsp;savings accounts where deposits would be tax deductible. 
The first bill is still pending; the latter bill passed the Senate, but not the Assembly. 
Rhoads, 57, who is finishing his second term in the Senate, knows his district's ins and outs,&nbsp;addressing the&nbsp;slow pace of the Grumman groundwater plume cleanup and the planning needed to ensure the long-term future of&nbsp;the Cedar Creek outfall pipe. Rhoads has criticized the state's takeover of Nassau University Medical Center, but said&nbsp;he has "a tremendous amount of respect" for NUMC chief executive Thomas Stokes, calling him an "excellent leader whose heart's in the right place." Rhoads wants to make sure key services are maintained. 
Wantagh Democrat Andrew Piddoubny is a state Supreme Court law clerk who speaks passionately about the importance of early intervention services, from which his twin 2-year-old boys have benefited. Piddoubny, 39, said he'd encourage additional development on the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility property, including senior housing or assisted living. His input on those issues is welcome. 
But Rhoads has developed a nuanced voice and a strong skill set to navigate Albany that Long Island needs.&nbsp; 
Newsday Opinion endorses Rhoads.

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Steven D. Rhoads for State Senate District 5

Newsday Opinion endorses Rhoads for State Senate District 5

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Siela A. Bynoe has spent just two years in the State Senate, but in that short time, she has used her thoughtful voice well. 
A former Nassau County legislator,&nbsp;she deeply understands her district's&nbsp;varied needs, including flood mitigation for Freeport, iron removal systems and other infrastructure upgrades in Rockville Centre and Baldwin, and the impact of charter schools on the finances of&nbsp;the Hempstead school district.&nbsp; 
Bynoe, 58, a Democrat from&nbsp;Westbury,&nbsp;has a&nbsp;passion for larger issues that impact the communities she represents. That's particularly evident in her work on&nbsp;Nassau University Medical Center, where she played a significant role when the state worked last year to remake the board and install new leadership. It was Bynoe who pushed for&nbsp;local resident involvement, and now it is Bynoe who is pushing for a future for the hospital's vast property that includes housing, veterans services, healthcare complexes and other solutions to meet the surrounding communities' needs. She suggested that the&nbsp;land surrounding the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility might represent an opportunity to erect a new building for the&nbsp;cramped and aging Uniondale Public Library, which needs a fresh start. 
Bynoe recognizes that the state formula for school aid and its focus on head count to allot dollars should be "revisited" to address&nbsp;the loss of students to charter schools.&nbsp;And as Nassau County's sole member of the Democratic majority, Bynoe recognizes the broader role she has to play to address the county's needs more comprehensively.&nbsp;She is keen on strengthening a statewide suburban caucus in her party&nbsp;to make sure Long Island's interests are met. 
Rockville Centre Republican Matthew J. Capp previously worked for former Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, and is now a press secretary for the Town of Hempstead. While many lawmakers talk about the difficulty young adults have in staying on Long Island, Capp, 29, has a firsthand grasp on those concerns, noting that he just bought a one-bedroom cooperative apartment. He&nbsp;said the state can do more to "partner" and communicate more directly with local municipalities to encourage more housing construction. He also rightly pointed to the need for other local hospital systems to work with NUMC, something he said state officials can assist in coordinating. Capp brings a knowledgeable and insightful perspective to challenging issues that makes him an asset&nbsp;in local government and politics. 
Bynoe want to keep working on improving long-term senior&nbsp;care, expanding workforce development opportunities, improving childhood early intervention services, and finding ways to continue and replicate the housing success stories in communities like Westbury and Mineola. 
Albany's&nbsp;overly late budget&nbsp;left legislators&nbsp;little time to push forward other initiatives, including those related to the state's&nbsp;medical misconduct disciplinary system,&nbsp;escrow account abuses, and the opportunity for library trustees to develop their extra land. A&nbsp;new term would give Bynoe a chance to use her expertise, relationships in Albany&nbsp;and community ties to tackle those issues and more.&nbsp; 
Newsday Opinion endorses Bynoe.

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Siela A. Bynoe for State Senate District 6

Newsday Opinion endorses Bynoe for State Senate District 6

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What makes this Senate district a hotly contested race this year is the lack of an incumbent, since longtime fixture&nbsp;State Sen. Jack&nbsp;Martins is forgoing a reelection bid. That opening&nbsp;pits veteran Democrat Rory I. Lancman, 57, of Great Neck, against two-term Republican Assemb. Jacob Ryan Blumencranz, 30, of Oyster Bay. 
Blumencranz was elected to the 15th Assembly District&nbsp;in 2022. He has been in the Assembly minority and secured tens of thousands of dollars in member items and helped push for the state's film tax credit. Other initiatives he drove, such as cracking down on deepfake videos, passed in&nbsp;the governor's budget bill. 
Both candidates have strongly condemned antisemitism, an issue of deep local concern, and both vow to&nbsp;resist&nbsp;new state tax hikes. 
Lancman, however, has had&nbsp;the&nbsp;bigger imprint in the 7th State Senate District through&nbsp;appointed and elected offices. He serves on the board of directors of Nassau University Medical Center and was vice chairman of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. He previously was special counsel for ratepayer protection for the state Public Service Commission and is a member of the Great Neck Library's&nbsp;board of trustees. 
His experience, including past tenures in the Assembly and the New York City Council from Queens, has nurtured in&nbsp;him a deep feel for legislating&nbsp;and the mechanics of complex issues such as&nbsp;the proposed Propel energy transmission line and the Long Island Rail Road, which means he can lead on key local issues. 
Lancman's skill and attention to detail would be important in building&nbsp;a suburban&nbsp;coalition of Democrats, especially on Long Island,&nbsp;in the eternal balancing of interests between New York City and the rest of the state. Vowing to "look under the hood" of state government, he&nbsp;emphasized collaborating on efficiencies to save money in an election&nbsp;when affordability is the buzzword.&nbsp; 
He says such an approach is the best alternative to raising taxes in a high-tax state. "We've now come to the point where we're looking to raise taxes on something called 'the wealthy,'&nbsp;in search of something that will vent our anger at 'the wealthy,' " he said. He called New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pied-a-terre tax "a terrible idea" which he would not have supported. "We live in one of the highest property tax counties," he said, also citing&nbsp;Nassau's&nbsp;relatively high sales tax rate. "I'm categorically opposed to raising taxes," he said in distancing himself from the party's left flank.&nbsp; 
Blumencranz has grown and widened his knowledge since joining the Assembly's GOP caucus, putting thought into such proposals as adjusting upward&nbsp;the flat tax on properties that sell for $1 million or more, and setting up a system for parents&nbsp;to save money by prepaying their children's&nbsp;tuition for SUNY and CUNY colleges. 
Both candidates show concern about how to handle future proposals for data centers, with Lancman saying the appropriate route would be for the PSC to work on promulgating clear regulations and restrictions for approving those facilities, based on public input,&nbsp;after the state's one-year moratorium expires. 
Lancman shows a mix of interests and seasoning in politics&nbsp;that&nbsp;would strongly&nbsp;represent the concerns of the&nbsp;district. 
Newsday Opinion endorses Lancman.

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Rory I. Lancman for State Senate District 7

Newsday Opinion endorses Lancman for State Senate District 7

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When Alexis Weik announced last year&nbsp;that she would not seek reelection, it opened the door for the 8th State Senate District to gain attentive and thoughtful representation. 
Residents have a&nbsp;choice between two energetic and engaged&nbsp;candidates: Sayville Republican Jarett C. Gandolfo, 36, and Massapequa Democrat Joshua James Taveras, 26. 
Gandolfo is the more familiar name to a significant swath of the district, as he has served as its Assembly member&nbsp;for nearly six years. That experience has provided him with the granular knowledge of how Albany works and how to best meet his coastal district's needs. Gandolfo noted&nbsp;that the Republican caucus has played a significant role in pushing through key legislation that otherwise might not be passed, raising&nbsp;as an example the&nbsp;volunteer firefighter tax credits that the legislature approved this year. That wouldn't have happened, Gandolfo said, without Republicans bringing a motion to discharge to force a vote and eventually reach a compromise. 
As a father of two young children, Gandolfo is particularly passionate&nbsp;about the expense of childcare, suggesting a tax credit that could reimburse families as much as 50% of the cost.&nbsp;And he's also able and willing to spotlight and take on&nbsp;the issues his district grapples with, such as&nbsp;the lack of sewer infrastructure&nbsp;and&nbsp;the generations-long battle to remake the Oakdale Merge. 
Taveras' story is meaningful. He is the child of Dominican immigrants who struggled to make ends meet, and he found himself under an aunt's care after his mother became ill and his father died. He emphasizes the issues&nbsp;many of his constituents worry about, from housing to job opportunities. Taveras, who now manages two retail stores, said the state should better address the impact of artificial intelligence&nbsp;by investing in protecting existing jobs and establishing&nbsp;new training and employment possibilities for those whose jobs become obsolete.&nbsp;Taveras suggests further incentives to encourage&nbsp;zoning changes to permit more affordable housing construction, while also making sure developers are held to state standards that require them to build a certain percentage of affordable housing when constructing larger developments. Taveras' voice is an important one. 
But Gandolfo is better prepared to represent the 8th District in Albany. He should use his new perch to prioritize childcare issues and&nbsp;make every effort to push for progress at the Oakdale Merge. 
Newsday Opinion endorses Gandolfo.

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Jarett C. Gandolfo for State Senate District 8

Newsday Opinion endorses Gandolfo for State Senate District 8

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Seeking her third term, lifelong Malverne resident Patricia M. Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick&nbsp;argues that Republicans, despite being&nbsp;the minority, are the more effective advocates for&nbsp;Long Island.&nbsp; 
"We are a strong group," she said, and their joint efforts consistently&nbsp;highlight&nbsp;how the&nbsp;region is "so&nbsp;unique and different from the rest of the state."&nbsp;Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick's top issues are water quality,&nbsp;climate resiliency and financial assistance for&nbsp;volunteer firefighters.&nbsp; 
She wants to improve how local fire departments communicate with the Long Island Rail Road during emergencies, not only to reduce any delays in emergency response but to protect&nbsp;train passengers and residents living near rail lines. 
As a member of the Senate Mental Health Committee, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, who turns 61 this month,&nbsp;wants to incentivize&nbsp;school districts to work with mental health professionals to better identify and help those students&nbsp;at risk. Her bill would allow reimbursements of up to $50,000 annually to districts&nbsp;to ease the cost on taxpayers. She also wants the state to&nbsp;develop and include&nbsp;suicide prevention and depression information&nbsp;in the&nbsp;health curriculum. 
She was successful in making the Island Park Public Library eligible for discounted borrowing through the state last year, and&nbsp;obtained $150,000 for the Village of Lawrence for better lighting along the Nassau Expressway to improve public safety. 
Challenger Lisa Malkie Vider, 48, of Hewlett Bay Park, is a Democrat and&nbsp;first-time candidate. After&nbsp;almost 30 years running an assisted care facility and lobbying for the nursing home industry in Albany,&nbsp;her focus understandably&nbsp;is on healthcare. She want to reduce the cost of care, in part by reducing regulations, and improve the quality of care. 
As a potential member of the likely Democratic majority, she says she could do more for the district than her opponent.&nbsp;Vider said&nbsp;she is seeking elective&nbsp;office&nbsp;to bring attention to combating the rise in antisemitism. She would like to expand state civil rights law to include protection from religious discrimination on college campuses.&nbsp; 
Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, an attorney,&nbsp;also is deeply concerned about the rise in antisemitism and&nbsp;co-sponsored a bill that would require the state's colleges and universities to report antisemitic incidents and provide a description of what corrective action the institution took. 
Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick has a good track record of delivering for and listening to&nbsp;her community, and deserves another term.&nbsp; 
Newsday Opinion endorses Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick.

Newsday Opinion's 2026 New York State Senate election endorsements

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