ALBANY—A Republican attorney said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the continued counting in the race for Nassau County executive while the Democrat acknowledged he’s “going into the fourth quarter down by two touchdowns.”
Incumbent Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, trails Republican Ed Mangano by 497 after a re-canvass of mechanical voting machines finished yesterday. On Election Night, Suozzi was leading by a few hundred votes.
Officials today are counting sip-and-puff voting machines used by disabled voters, but this will be less than 200 total votes. There are around 8,000 paper ballots which will be counted starting Monday; there are about 700 more registered Republicans than Democrats in the mix.
“I’m cautiously optimistic, especially considering how the banks have broken thus far,” said John Ciampoli, one of the attorneys representing Mangano in the recount.
Steven Schlesinger, one of the lead attorneys for the Suozzi campaign, told me by phone there is mathematical hope if you examine the down-ballot races for supervisor and mayor in the county: more voters picked Republicans for the number two slot but picked Suozzi up top.
“If we’re down the numbers we’re seeing, it’s like going into the fourth quarter down by two touchdowns,” he said. “Is a comeback impossible? No. But it’s unlikely we’re going to cover the spread.”
He’s right: Suozzi was favored to win re-election handily. At best, it will be by less than 100 votes, Schlesinger said.
