Another rough Election Day for Islip Democrats

Islip Democrats failed to capture seats in state and federal races on Nov. 6 as the county’s Democrats spent the evening watching election returns at the IBEW Local 1049 in Holtsville.

Cautious optimism swept through the election watch party as volunteers, voters, and campaign staffers filled the hall and the ballot propositions on protecting abortion and expanding sewage treatment facilities comfortably passed.

But the mood quickly soured as results in the State Senate, Assembly, and Congress trickled in, showing no change in seats as the Republican Party continued its hold on Suffolk County electoral politics.

“There are always ups and downs, there are tough moments [for us]. There are moments we’ll look back on and say, ‘I wish we could have had that back,’ but the reality is Suffolk County is strong, Long Island is strong, we are strong. We will not give up and will continue to fight,” said Democratic nominee for the Second Congressional District, Rob Lubin.

As Democrats saw leads in several suburban Congressional districts across the state, Lubin was unable to flip the Second Congressional District blue as incumbent Republican Andrew Garbarino secured his third term in Washington with 56.26 percent of the vote over Lubin’s 37.22 percent.

But Democrats attending the watch party initially felt confident in their races as Prop-1 quickly passed, enshrining an Equal Rights Amendment that protects access to abortion in the State Constitution. Suffolk County’s Prop-2, a proposal seeking to expand sewage treatment facilities, also later passed with more than 71 percent of voters in favor.

Despite the Democrats campaigning across Islip, the party’s candidates were unable to pick up seats in the State Assembly. In the Seventh Assembly District in Islip and southwestern Brookhaven, incumbent Republican Jarett Gandolfo held his seat with 58.82 percent of the vote against challenger Garrett Peterson, who trailed behind at 33.92 percent.

Assemblyman Philip Ramos, the Democrat representing the Sixth Assembly District in Brentwood, Central Islip, and Bayshore, also won re-election against his challenger Daniel Mitola, winning 58.2 percent to Mitola’s 30.53 percent of the vote.

Ramos took the stage at the Democrat’s watch party shortly after 11:30 p.m. and attempted to uplift the crowd’s ailing spirits as Democratic defeats from across the country continued beaming through the MSNBC live stream across the wall.

“Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, a Conservative or Liberal, it doesn’t matter if we dismantle our democracy,” Ramos said. “Regardless of what happens at the national level, it is up to us, the Suffolk Democrats, to roll up our sleeves and protect our democracy, protect our institutions and make sure that the beautiful country we all love remains the country it is with the ideals it has.”

The State Senate races played out similarly to the Assembly districts, with little movement between either party as the incumbent legislators rolled into comfortable victories.

Alexis Weik won re-election in the Eighth State Senate District in Islip, defeating her Democratic challenger Francis Dolan by capturing 63.28 percent of the vote against Dolan’s 30.37 percent.

Monica Martinez won re-election with 51.96 percent of her district’s vote, sending her back to Albany for the Fourth State Senate district in Brentwood and Central Islip. Republican challenger Teresa Bryant received 40.39 percent of the total vote.

“From what I’m seeing from individuals across my district and the Assembly-District level, [they’re saying] ‘we don’t want division. We want unity, we want to be united,’” Martinez said. “And nobody is going to take away our rights as individuals because we deserve what we have and what we have fought for for centuries in this country.”