Anna Throne-Holst has won the Democratic nomination for Congress.
The former Southampton town supervisor bested her primary election rival Dave Calone by 319 votes, according to Suffolk County Board of Elections Commissioner Anita Katz.
Her 29-vote margin expanded when the absentee ballots were counted, a process that began yesterday at the board of elections in Yaphank and concluded this afternoon.
“I am deeply grateful to all who placed their trust and support in me, and I am truly humbled by the privilege it has been to get to know, share the concerns, and my message with so many,” Throne-Holst said in a written statement .
“I want to congratulate Dave Calone on a spirited race, and I share in the respect and support he garnered in the district, as demonstrated by the very close margin and the strength of his candidacy,” she said.
“We were outspent in this campaign by nearly $1 million and fell short by around 300 votes . . . that’s a testament to the great Democratic volunteers supporting our campaign across the district,” Calone said.
Throne-Holst now turns her attention to the Nov. 8 general election, in which she looks to unseat freshman Republican Lee Zeldin.
“I look forward to working together with Democrats across the district to take back this important seat. Lee Zeldin has shown in every way how out of step and wrong he is not only for Long Island, but for the country,” Throne Holst said.
Calone threw his support behind his former rival in that effort. “We cannot continue being represented by Congressman Lee Zeldin, one of Donald Trump’s loudest advocates in Washington,” he said as he urged people across eastern Long Island to join him in supporting Throne-Holst in campaign.
Republicans come out swinging
The Zeldin for Congress campaign issued a statement that said the incumbent “accomplished more in his first 18 months than his predecessor did in 12 years,” referring to Democrat Tim Bishop, whom Zeldin upset in 2014.
“Despite the shameful narrative that the Democrats have been desperately attempting to deceive voters into playing along with, First Congressional District voters are smart enough to sort fact from fiction and reject all of the false, negative and partisan attacks on our Congressman being spun up by the Democrats,” the campaign said.
Republican party leaders wasted no time taking aim at the freshly minted Democratic challenger, whom they likened to former House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“That was a very expensive and underwhelming Democratic Primary for Anna Throne-Holst with such a poor voter turnout showing an incredible lack of enthusiasm for her,” said Brookhaven Republican party leader Jesse Garcia. He called Throne-Holst “a carbon copy of Nancy Pelosi, right down to her dishonest politics, ineffective liberal policies, and utter lack of vision for the direction our nation should take.”
Suffolk County Republican chairman Johy Jay LaValle called Throne-Holst “the most out-of-touch liberal Congressional candidate in Suffolk County.”
LaValle said during the campaign, Throne-Holst “proved she has more in common with Nancy Pelosi than the residents of our Congressional District. We don’t want to be represented in Congress by a far left extremist who will support policies that kill jobs and make our nation less safe, and we can’t afford Nancy Pelosi to be the Speaker of the House again,” he said.
