After shooting ahead to an early lead, incumbent Carl Marcellino was voted into his tenth term in the 5th State Senate District race against newcomer David Wright.
As of 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Nassau County Board of Elections reported that Marcellino, R-Syosset, received 59.5 percent of the vote over Democrat David Wright, 29,905 votes to 20,340.
Over 98 percent of the votes had been counted by 1:30 a.m.
Wright, of Locust Valley, works at the Nassau County Board of Elections. As a candidate, he focused on supporting education as a former high school guidance counselor and college advisor. He had voiced a concern for getting more of a Democratic voice to a largely Republican Nassau County.
Since he took office in 1995, Marcellino has served the fifth district out of Syosset. He beat his last challenger, Larry Silverman, in 2010 with over 60 percent of the district vote. Before his political career in Town of Oyster Bay, including his time as Town Clerk, he was a school administrator and science teacher. Marcellino supports environmental conservation and sponsored bills helping with protection of abuse victims, more stringent prescription drug laws, and working against gas price hikes.
Marcellino's accolades include Chairman of the Oyster Bay Western Waterfront Committee, founding member of the State Advisory Board of the National Environmental Policy Institute, former President of the New York Conference of Italian American State Legislators and former Co-Chairman of the Council of State Governments/Eastern Regional Conference.
"I'm definitely pleased with the numbers so far and I'm glad the district came out and voted for me," reacted Marcellino on Tuesday night.
Candidate Votes Percent David Wright (D) 20,340 40.47 Carl Marcellino (R) 29,905 59.50