Manhattan Attorney Wendy Long has earned the right to face off against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in November.
Long faced off against Rep. Bob Turner and Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos in a Republican primary Tuesday.
Long ended up with more than 50 percent of the votes— about 70,000—in the low-turnout election.
Turner, who represents Queens and Brooklyn in Congress, claimed about 35 percent of the ballots—just less than 50,000.
“I congratulate Ms. Long on her impressive victory tonight. I want to thank Chairman Cox and all of the Republicans from across the state who supported me in this campaign,” Turner said after 11 p.m. in a concession statement.
Comptroller Maragos won about 18,000 votes or 13 percent.
Turner did have a sizable lead in New York City but couldn’t carry that through to the rest of the state.
According unofficial results from the city’s Board of Elections, he claimed about 65 percent of the vote with more than 11,000 ballots cast for him.
Long was the second choice in the city with 26 percent or 4,500 votes.
Turner said he would throw his support behind Long in an effort to defeat Gillibrand, who he has repeatedly called the nation’s most liberal senator.
“I went to Congress last year as a citizen legislator on a clear mission to help save our nation from the harmful big-government policies that are keeping New Yorkers out of work, small businesses shuttered and record levels of debt on the backs of our children. … I remain steadfastly committed to these goals and I pledge to work with Ms. Long to unite all Republicans and Conservatives in the effort to defeat Kirsten Gillibrand in November.”
By Jeremiah Dobruck
