How North Hempstead stayed red amid the blue wave

Daily Point

Concerns about antisemitism resonated with predominantly Jewish communities

A week after an election that sent shock waves across the country, there remain intriguing questions closer to home — such as how the GOP kept certain parts of Long Island red, in particular North Hempstead, while it lost its power base in the Town of Hempstead.

As of Tuesday afternoon, North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, who runs on the Republican line even though she is a registered Democrat, had earned 51.05% of the vote, to Democrat Sean McCarthy's 48.82%, with less than 2,000 votes separating the two candidates. To assess how DeSena kept the seat, The Point looked at some Republican strongholds — which held firmly for the incumbent along with areas that produced more Republican votes or fewer Democratic ones in 2026.

Click here to see Newsday’s 2026 election map.

Foremost, voter turnout across the Island and the state far exceeded that of any recent election. The North Hempstead supervisor race alone this year saw a 60% increase in turnout compared with 2025, when DeSena was on the ballot against Democrat Dave Kerpen and won with 55.6% of all 53,708 votes. The Point's analysis of election results narrows down specific election districts where stronger Republican turnout outweighed that of Democrats.

Several factors came into play in North Hempstead that may have been less consequential in other places on Long Island. Among them: concerns over rising antisemitism, especially in the wake of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, and Zohran Mamdani's election last year as New York City mayor. Those events resonated in predominately Jewish communities across North Hempstead — and GOP candidates emphasized those events in their campaigns. What's more, Republican claims that Democratic leadership would bring high-density housing and higher taxes likely resonated in the town's wealthier suburban areas.

In election districts in and surrounding Great Neck, this year's GOP gubernatorial candidate, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, outperformed 2022's Republican candidate, Rep. Lee Zeldin, earning, for instance, 89.9% of the vote in ED #416003, compared with Zeldin's 83.5% in 2022. Similar disparities existed in a dozen different election districts in that part of the town. In ED #416011, Blakeman took 80% of the vote this year, while Zeldin took 68.21% in 2022. Both Republicans are Jewish and Zeldin did much better overall than Blakeman throughout the state. Zeldin's campaign, however, preceded the current tumultuous environment, while Blakeman, probably better known than Zeldin to Nassau residents, emphasized an anti-Mamdani platform and a commitment to combating antisemitism.

Voters in those election districts and others nearby then tended to stick to the Republican line on the ballot, ultimately boosting DeSena's totals. That also helped GOP Assemb. Jake Blumencranz in his bid for State Senate, as he defeated Democrat Rory Lancman.

The trends in Great Neck replicated themselves in Republican hot spots across the town. In ED #416099 in North Hills, Blakeman took 58.9% of the vote this year, while Gov. Kathy Hochul won the district four years ago with 51.2% of the vote, almost a 10-percentage point swing. In ED #413004, in East Hills, Blakeman earned a resounding 77.1% of the vote, compared with Zeldin's 58.5% four years ago — a nearly 20-point difference. DeSena performed similarly, earning nearly 75% of the vote there.

And in ED #416082 in Albertson, Blakeman won the district with 418 votes to Hochul's 285 votes, while four years ago, Hochul and Zeldin ended up in a dead heat, with 341 votes apiece.

Downballot, those trends continued, as Republican Paolo Pironi surpassed Democrat Dean Tarulli to win an open Assembly seat, while Nassau Legis. Mazi Melesa Pilip easily sailed to reelection with 61% of the vote, scoring upward of 90% in those areas of Great Neck where Blakeman did well. Even in AD16, where Democrat Kim Keiserman beat Republican challenger David Hassid to win back an Assembly seat that had turned red two years ago, the disparity between Keiserman's bluer Port Washington section of the district and the deep red Great Neck illustrated how DeSena was able to hold on.

A study of the Nassau County legislative seats is particularly telling. For instance, Republican Legis. Samantha Goetz flipped at least four election districts near Old Westbury in LD18 that Democrat Karen Bhatia won last year with more than 50% of the vote. Turnout in each of those districts was also at least 50% higher than a year ago.

In LD9, a race that is still too close to call between Republican incumbent Scott Strauss and Democratic challenger Juleigh Chin, there are North Hempstead election districts that Strauss did significantly better in this year compared with last year. In ED #416072, for instance, Strauss got 54% of all 331 votes cast last year, when he and Chin competed the first time, and 61% of all 617 votes this year. A blue sliver of LD10 in ED#416018, where Mazi Pilip's 2025 challenger Paul Jordonne received 63% of all votes, was reduced to 56% for Skylar Epstein in 2026.

While those data points all may have contributed to DeSena's victory, the incumbent supervisor said in a statement to The Point that her win was also about her own policy choices.

"North Hempstead neighbors had a clear-cut choice on Election Day," DeSena said. "My administration offered five straight years of tax cuts and tax freezes while previous Democrat control in the town gave residents year after year tax hikes."

That may be true. But larger forces were at work this year. The political assumptions even on Election Day suggested that the blue wave might wash over North Hempstead, while Hempstead would stay red. In the end, the opposite occurred. In both towns, turnout made the difference. But the reasons — and the outcomes — couldn't have been more different.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com and Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Breaking point

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Final Point

What's in store for 2027

Even before all the lawn signs are cleared out and the chatter stops about the election mayhem of last week, enthusiasts, including us, are looking to what's ahead.

The debut of New York State's even-year election calendar gave voters sizable ballots to fill this election, with fears of local races being shadowed by the more prominent gubernatorial and state races. Long Islanders elected supervisors in all three Nassau towns and four towns in Suffolk. All 19 seats in the Nassau County Legislature were on the ballot.

In 2027, the ballot for Nassau County will be quite small. Suffolk County voters also will have a significantly shorter list of races next year, led by the county executive race. Among the town supervisor races will be those in Brookhaven, Huntington and Islip.

Town and city council races will also be in focus in 2027. Town clerks and county clerks are expected to announce early next year which races are up, officials from the Suffolk County Board of Elections told The Point.

Meanwhile, Nassau County residents can appreciate a year of no mailers before the presidential contest and congressional races in 2028.

— Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com

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