Gounardes confident, looks towards Albany in January
In the seven days since Election Day, unofficial state Senator-elect Andrew Gounardes has already hit the ground running, with the expectation of heading to Albany come January.
Gounardes, a Democrat who ended election night with an 1,100-plus vote lead over long-standing Republican incumbent state Sen. Marty Golden, has claimed victory despite the Board of Elections (BOE) not officially calling the race for either candidate.
If the vote remains in his favor come the end of the week (when the BOE plans to hold a machine audit after finalizing absentee ballots), Gounardes – a lawyer, local activist and Eagle Scout – will have successfully unseated a politician who hadn’t lost an election in 21 years.