HUDSON–Unofficial results from Tuesday’s elections showed voters in Columbia County split their ballots, joining the statewide and national trend in supporting the reelection of Democrat Barack Obama and also backing the reelection of Republican Congressman Chris Gibson of Kinderhook.
Mr. Gibson carried the county by an unofficial total of 13,969 to 11,394 for his Democratic opponent Julian Schreibman. Overall in the 19th Congressional District, Mr. Gibson won by 135,328 to 118,358, or 53% of the vote, according to a districtwide total published by AP. In January Mr. Gibson begins his second term in the House.
At a crowded victory party Tuesday evening at the Winding Brook Country Club in Valatie, Mr. Gibson expressed gratitude to all the voters of the district and told supporters, ” The American people are counting on us to come together. They’re counting on us to show leadership. They want us to deal with the uncertainty that’s out there in the economy right now.”
He cited a budget bill that he and some other members of Congress on both sides of the aisle had voted for instead of the budget prepared by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), saying it was “a vehicle to tackle the issues. He also said he plans to go back to Washington next week to continue working on passage of the farm bill. The bill stalled in the House before the election despite a bipartisan agreement.
“There is much to be done,” said Mr. Gibson.”Some say there are big divides in this country. As Americans, we have so much more in common than we ever have apart. Let’s come together. Let’s tackle the big issues. Because our best days are still in front of us,” he said.
Mr. Schreibman released a statement Tuesday night congratulating his opponent and thanking the people of the district. “I wish him good health, energy and wisdom to represent all of us in the 19th Congressional District. While we have differed on many issues, he has served with honor during his time in Congress,” said Mr. Schreibman.
Two candidates in other races carried this county but apparently lost overall in multi-county districts. Claverack town Supervisor Robin Andrews, a Democrat, lost her bid for a seat in the state Senate in the 43rd District, defeated by Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione, a Republican, who polled a plurality of 49% of the vote against Mr. Andrews’ 37%. Incumbent state Senator Roy McDonald remained on the ballot on the Independence line and drew 14% of the vote, though he did not campaign. In Columbia County, Ms. Andrews won with 11,744 votes to Ms. Marchione’s 10,724.
In a statement Ms. Andrews said she had called Ms. Marchione to congratulate her. She also said she was proud of her own campaign and that “we knew from the start that this would be an uphill battle.”
In the Race for Assembly in the 107th District, Republican Steve McLaughlin won election to a second term, with the unofficial tally showing him beating Democrat Cheryl Roberts in the district. The Troy Record reported that Mr. McLaughlin gave a victory speech on Tuesday evening after the results were in, but Ms. Roberts has not conceded, deciding instead to wait until all the absentee ballots are counted. The unofficial results show Ms. Roberts carried the section of Columbia County that lies within the newly redrawn district, but Mr. McLaughlin won 52% of the total vote.
Assembly member Didi Barrett won a full term in the state Assembly from the 106th District, according to figures from www.poughkeepsiejournal.com. She defeated challenger David Byrne. Ms. Barrett carried the southern Columbia County by 7,329 to 6,284.
Ms. Barrett won a special election early this year to fill the seat vacated by Marc Molinaro, who is no the county executive in Dutchess County. She will now have a full two-year term in Albany.
Incumbent Republican Peter Lopez won in the Towns of Stuyvesant and Stockport, the only part of the new 102nd Assembly District in Columbia County. The tally in the county was 1,031 for Mr. Lopez and 808 for his challenger, James Fuller. Mr. Lopez won by a 2-to-1 margin in the entire district, based on results from wnyt.com.
The other regional race was for two seats on the state Supreme Court trial bench, a contest that saw two incumbent Republicans, E. Michael Kavanagh of Ulster County and Bernard J. Malone, Jr. of Albany, defeated by two Democratic challengers, Richard Mott of Kinderhook and Stephan Schick of Sullivan County. Mr. Mott was received the most votes in the unofficial results in the seven-county district. There was also a Working Families candidate in the race, Larry Weissmann, running on the Working Families line.
The other race on the statewide ballot was for U.S. Senate between incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, and Republican Wendy Long. Ms. Gillibrand, a former Columbia County resident, won a full six-year term with 70% of the unofficial vote. In the county she received 17,563 votes to 7,308 for Ms. Long.
The results will not be final until all the absentee ballots are counted next week and the results certified by the elections boards in the districts.
Unofficial results for Columbia County only:
Austerlitz
Town Justice
David Cassuto…..382
William H. Hogencamp…..403
Gallatin
Town Board (2)
John Fraser Patterson…..477
John Reilly…..296
Eric Mortenson…..314
Kinderhook
Tax collector
Dierdra Curtis…..2015
Patsy Leader…..1992
Library funding
Yes…..1722
No…..1061
Stuyvesant
Library funding
Yes…..573
No…..273
Copake
Town Board
Jeanne Mettler…..1134
Hudson 1
Council
Nick Haddad…..208
Hudson (all)
City Judge
John G. Connor Jr……1810
President
Barack Obama …..14078
Mitt Romney…..11204
U.S. Senate
Kirsten Gillibrand…..17563
Wendy Long…..7308
Congress 19th
Christopher Gibson…..13,969
Julian Schreibman…..11,394
State Supreme Court (2)
Richard Mott…..14,144
Stephan Schick…..10,623
E. Michael Kavanagh…..10,067
Bernard J. Malone, Jr……9,918
Senate 43rd
Robin Andrews…..11,744
Kathleen A. Marchione…..10724
Roy J. McDonald…..1748
Assembly 102nd
Peter Lopez…..1031
James A. Fuller…..808
Assembly 106th
Didi Barrett…..7329
David Byrne…..6284
Assembly 107th
Cheryl Roberts…..4903
Steven McLaughlin…..4159