Nancy Goroff Wins Primary, Will Face Off With Zeldin In November

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — The absentee votes have been tallied and Nancy Goroff has emerged the winner of the Democratic primary in a race to face off with incumbent Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican, for a seat in the 1st Congressional District this November.

Although the final count was not immediately available, the Suffolk County Board of Elections confirmed that Goroff, of Stony Brook, emerged the victor in a nail biter race that initially had Perry Gershon in the lead, ahead of Goroff, Bridget Fleming and Greg Fischer.

"We won!" Goroff said in a mailing this week. "For the past four days, our team has been at the Board of Elections watching every mail-in ballot be counted — and it’s been very close. Today, after all of the votes have been counted, we are declaring victory by more than 630 votes. . . Now, it’s time to gear up for the fight to defeat the science-denying, anti-choice, out-of-step extremist Rep. Lee Zeldin in November."

Goroff said she launched her campaign a year ago "knowing that our community deserves policies based on facts and reality and that Lee Zeldin must go. . . . While Zeldin’s extreme policies and vocal defense of President Trump are completely out of step with the voters in NY-01, they have helped him cozy up to Trump and his network of radical supporters."

Before the primary, Goroff, a scientist who has been a professor of chemistry at Stony Brook University for 23 years, told Patch why she was seeking office: "It is time for scientists to have a seat at the table, not just serve as advisors. With the current attempts to distort facts and reality, it's never been more crucial to have a scientist in Congress, someone who can read the evidence and listen to the facts in order to form the best policy."

She added: "Lee Zeldin has failed on so many issues for Long Island. He stands on the wrong side of the fight against climate change and coastal erosion. He voted against restoring the SALT tax deduction, which would directly help the people of this district. He has pandered to the president at every opportunity while not holding town halls or listening to constituents. Lee Zeldin could not be more out of step with the community."

Fleming, a Suffolk County Legislator, spoke about the outcome this week: "I'm proud of the campaign we ran," she said. "First, I want to thank all of my amazing supporters, volunteers, and our incredible team in Suffolk County. You truly gave me the energy to keep fighting despite a global pandemic and the barrage of outside spending in this race. We put together a remarkable grassroots campaign in a very short amount of time and a lot of that was fueled by energy and activism from voters within my Second Legislative District. I have called Nancy Goroff to congratulate her and I look forward to supporting her as the Democratic nominee in the November election against our common foe Lee Zeldin — an absentee congressman who cares more about Donald Trump’s adoration than he does the people of the First Congressional District.”

Gershon also released a statement: "Earlier today, I called Nancy to congratulate her on a hard-fought win," he said. "Lee Zeldin continues to let us down in addressing Suffolk’s problems, and I am confident that Nancy will offer real solutions. I am encouraged that Democrats voted in historical numbers in our primary, more than four times the level of participation in 2016, the last presidential year. Zeldin must be defeated in November and Democrats have laid down the gauntlet that they are ready to take him on. We deserve a representative who will fight for Long Islanders, instead of fighting for a corrupt president who he is beholden to," he said, adding that he would fight with Goroff "for the issues I care deeply about."

Fischer also weighed in: "People in the district need to prepare for the worst — total supply chain disruption this winter; it did not help that residents are now stuck between choices who are under-skilled for the tasks or even for defining the issues of greatest economic disaster in the history of America," he said.

Zeldin released a statement following the conclusion of the NY-1 Democratic primary.

“My entire life has and continues to be in service to America and Long Island, working on behalf of our neighborhoods so they are not forgotten and ensuring our country has everything it needs to fight the battles of a constantly changing world," he said. "I am willing to work with anyone when it comes to safeguarding the health, welfare and safety of our country."

He added: “America is at a crossroads, with many in our country pushing to ‘defund, ‘disband’, ‘dismantle’, or ‘abolish’ our police departments, institute a federal government takeover of our healthcare system, implement a disastrously flawed ‘Green New Deal’, and raise our taxes the likes of which we’ve never seen. We can’t let that happen. Throughout my 17 years of service in our nation’s military, I’ve witnessed firsthand the dedication of so many selfless individuals who have put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms – we need more of that."

Zeldin said he will "continue a laser focus on our economy, cutting taxes and growing jobs, increasing healthcare access and affordability, ensuring Long Islanders have clean air and clean water, protecting America’s safety and security at home and abroad, supporting our first responders and veterans, and stopping radical policies and other costly pursuits that would harm the families of Long Island.”

To read a full Q and A with Goroff, click here.

The 1st Congressional District includes most of central and eastern Suffolk County, including the East End, Brookhaven Town, and most of Smithtown. View the district map here.