LONG ISLAND, NY — Polls closed Tuesday night in the race for New York's 9th Assembly District, where incumbent Republican Michael Durso faced Democratic challenger Christopher Walis in the Nov. 3 general election.
Durso, of Massapequa Park, is running on the Republican and Conservative Party lines, while Walis, of West Babylon, remains on the Democratic Party line despite announcing in August that he was suspending his campaign.
The district includes portions of Nassau and Suffolk counties, including Massapequa, Massapequa Park, West Babylon, Babylon, West Islip and Brightwaters.
Votes are being counted, and Patch will provide updates as unofficial results become available from election officials.
Patch will update this story with unofficial vote totals and developments as results are reported Tuesday night.
10:30 p.m. update: Republican incumbent Michael Durso continued to lead Democrat Christopher Walis in Suffolk County's unofficial returns for the 9th Assembly District. Durso received 11,153 votes (55.11 percent), compared with Walis' 9,076 votes (44.85 percent), with 36 of 71 election districts reporting in the county's results. The district also includes portions of Nassau County, and these figures do not represent the complete districtwide count.
Results will remain unofficial until election officials complete the required canvass and certification process.
Walis, a West Babylon resident and graduate of West Babylon schools, works full-time as an assistant store manager at a local grocery store. He launched his Assembly campaign with an emphasis on affordability, citing the difficulties working-class Long Islanders face in paying for housing and other necessities. Walis has also spoken about growing up in a single-parent household and his experiences working to support himself.
His campaign website outlines positions on expanding affordable housing, protecting Long Island's drinking water and natural resources, and safeguarding immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities. Walis also called for protecting forests from development and addressing harmful algal blooms along the South Shore. However, he announced in August that he was suspending his campaign, Newsday reported in October. His name remains on the ballot.
Durso, a Massapequa Park resident, was first elected to the State Assembly in 2020. Before taking office, he worked as a sanitation worker and supervisor for the Town of Oyster Bay and as a public safety officer at Hofstra University. He is a union member and graduate of a carpentry program at BOCES in Levittown.
Durso's priorities include property tax relief, public safety, infrastructure improvements and increased educational opportunities through vocational training. He has advocated for changes to the state's school funding formula, repairs to the Fire Island Inlet Bridge and legislation known as Connor's Law, which would require cardiac screening for high school athletes before they participate in interscholastic sports.
More information about the candidates is available through Walis' campaign website and Durso's official Assembly biography.
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