Curran Clings To Absentee Ballot Hope In Nassau County Exec Race

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — Nassau County Executive Laura Curran is clinging to the hope that absentee ballots will help her retain her seat. But her challenger, Republican Bruce Blakeman, has already declared victory in the race.

In unofficial returns, Curran was trailing Blakeman by thousands of votes. He has 135,842 to her 124,008 — 52.25 percent to 47.7 percent. But Curran is not giving up hope.

"There are many thousands of absentee ballots that still must be counted — with more coming in," Curran said in a statement early Wednesday morning. "This is not over and we must trust the process."

According to Newsday, the Nassau County Board of Elections has 19,895 absentee ballots, out of 38,000 that were requested — enough to potentially turn the election in Curran's favor. Ballots postmarked by Tuesday are valid and can continue to be counted as they come in to the county.

Republicans across Long Island had a great night on Tuesday, winning races all over. The Republicans kept their majority in the Nassau County Legislature, and Anne Donnelly defeated Todd Kaminsky to become the county's next district attorney.