Nassau County Republicans romped at the polls Tuesday despite Democrats surging elsewhere, flipping high-profile seats in conservative strongholds nationwide and naming Zohran Mamdani mayor of New York City in a landslide across the Queens border.
But that blue wave crashed hard against a red wall on Long Island as Nassau Republicans beat their Democratic challengers by over 10 points and 40,000 votes — with insiders in both parties claiming a strategy to tie local Dems to Mamdani “clearly worked,” and that his socialist agenda has “no allure in the suburbs.”
“We sent the message that there is a big red line between New York City and [Nassau County],” John Ferretti, who was elected as Hempstead’s town supervisor, said on Election Day.
Long Island Republicans were able to win their races by tying Democratic opponents to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, insiders told The Post. Dennis A. ClarkThe GOP held onto the top countywide seats as well as the top seat in Hempstead after a campaign featuring ads with local candidates alongside Mamdani.
“It clearly worked,” one Democratic insider said.
US Rep. Tom Suozzi (D), who didn’t endorse Mamdani, agreed.
“Mamdani’s campaign message may have worked in New York City, but it did not work in my district in Queens and was used against candidates on Long Island,” he said.
Republican insiders echoed the sentiment, and claimed that Mamdani’s policies “have no allure in the suburbs.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman won re-election on Tuesday. James MesserschmidtBut political analyst John Tomlin told The Post that Democrats placing the blame on Mamdani is a cop-out, noting he is the most popular Dem in the state.
He said local Democrats needed to own their losses, and said voters were simply not energized around their message — especially against a popular, well-liked, suburban, Trump-backed candidate like incumbent County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
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“Voters are looking for something affirmative to support — they’re not going to be motivated if you’re only argument is ‘I’m not the other guy,’ and it’s a lesson Democrats need to learn from the race against Trump and this race in Nassau,” said Tomlin, founder of Taconic Strategies.
Democrats, he added, failed to offer a compelling vision beyond opposition, which he said is a recurring lesson they have so far refused to learn.
Mamdani seen greeting supporters after leaving his apartment building in Astoria on Nov. 6, 2025. James MesserschmidtRepublicans, meanwhile, leaned into hyperlocal issues like property taxes, public safety, and immigration, which has proven to be a formula that’s repeatedly been effective in Nassau’s swingy electorate, he detailed.
“Bruce Blakeman is popular, Nassau has a strong Republican community, and a very well orchestrated Republican machine that knows how to churn out the vote,” Tomlin said.
