Zeldin Soars to Victory Throne-Holst Race for 1st Congressional District, Unofficial Results Say

As the dust settled on Election Night, Lee Zeldin continued to soar to the lead in a wide margin during the race for the 1st Congressional district seat.

Zeldin defeated former Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst in the race for the seat, according to unofficial results from the Suffolk Board of Elections.

With almost all districts reporting, Zeldin leads by a margin of .59.02 percent to 40.09 percent over Throne-Holst.

Speaking to a cheering crowd in Patchogue, Zeldin said, "Victory is sweet. How great is it to be part of Team Zeldin? Campaigning hard, knocking on on doors, making those calls and coming up with a big win tonight?"

Zeldin said he loves the volunteers who worked so "hard for our community, for our state, for our country. God bless each and every one of you. Give yourself a big round of applause, you've earned it."

He added, "A powerful message was sent by all of you in the First Congressional District today, all throughout the state of New York and America: We love our country. We are going to have a new president of the United States, and his name is Donald J. Trump. We are going to have a Republican Congress to work with him. We are going to repeal and replace Obamacare. We are going to simplify our tax code, negotiating better trade deals again, improving the quality of education for our kids. We are going to repair our nation's infrastructure. . . safeguarding our environment. We're going to make America great again."

After the vote, Throne-Holst said, "Suffolk County represents the very fabric of America, with hardworking men and women determined to support their families and build a democracy that moves our country forward and makes our communities stronger."

She said she'd like to thank everyone who supported her campaign "over the course of this incredible journey. It is our collective vision of a fair and unified America that will guide the road ahead and shape the future for our next generation."

Throne-Holst said called Congressman Zeldin to congratulate him on his success "and to wish his wife Diana, and his beautiful children, all the best. I will continue to fight for families and children in future pursuits, and am truly honored to have the faith and confidence of so many men and women throughout New York's First District — may we come together in the wake of this divisive campaign season to establish a more resilient country for us all."

Born and raised on Long Island, Zeldin said at an event recently he and his wife are raising their twins a half mile from where he grew up.

He attended college and law school in Albany, and is a veteran who serves as a Major in the Army Reserves; after completing ROTC he served as a military intelligence officer, federal prosecutor and military magistrate.

He was elected to the New York State Senate in 2010 and, he said, led the fight to repeal the MTA Payroll Tax for 80 percent of employers, cosponsored the nation’s strongest property tax cap, reduced middle income tax rates to the lowest level in 60 years, eliminated the saltwater fishing license fee, and created a program for vets with PTSD.

In Congress, Zeldin said he has worked with "both sides of the aisle" to get several proposals passed; three bills for veterans, two proposals to save Plum Island, as well as counter-terrorism legislation. His Common Core opt out proposal and Safe Bridges Act were both passed and signed into law, he said.

Speaking out to the business community gathered in Mattituck recently, Zeldin said his aim was to do "whatever we can do, to make it easier for businesses to expand."

Addressing health care, Zeldin has expressed his support for repealing Obamacare. In January, he announced that he would be voting in favor of a bill to repeal Obamacare.

Zeldin said businesses are offering employees "less of a policy for more of a cost."

Discussing the collapse of Health Republic of New York, Zeldin said 200,000 New Yorkers didn't lose coverage "90 days from now. . .they were told, 'You're not covered now.' And that included people undergoing treatment for cancer at Sloan-Kettering."

He added, "We need small and medium sized businesses to offer more of a policy at less of a cost."
Zeldin said he favored allowing children to stay on their parents' policies until the age of 26, covering pre-existing conditions, and tax incentives for people to set aside earnings pre-tax to help cover health costs.

The goal was to reduce costs and create more jobs, Zeldin said.

The congressman said he did not support raising the minimum wage, citing the impact on small businesses.

He said there's a need to enact smart policy to allow small businesses to flourish, expand, and to create more jobs.

During a question and answer period, one woman said, "There has to be country, over party." Of Donald Trump, she said, "Why have not more people in your party said, 'I cannot support him."

"I do support Trump over Hillary," Zeldin said, to loud applause in the room. "I have my reasons, related to a lot of important substantive issues I care deeply about."

When asked about his opinion on a call by the United States Chamber of Commerce to end travel restrictions and an embargo to Cuba, Zeldin said concessions needed to be realized. Human rights violations need to be dealt with, he said. "Cuba is still harboring fugitives," he said.

On the issue of immigration reform, Zeldin said border security needs improvement and an interior enforcement bill should be passed.

"There are principals that guide me," he said. "Every nation's backbone is our rule of law. A nation without borders isn't a nation at all."

He also said people who come to this nation that are educated and graduate should be given jobs. If not,"They leave, and that job leaves with them," he said, adding that he supports high tech visas. Zeldin said on the North Fork, employers who follow the rules, paying taxes, have to wait an extra few weeks for laborers they bring in for the summer; he'd like to speed up that process.

Zeldin also said he has compassion for individuals not in this country yet because they've gone to the consulate to pursue the American dream but have been handed forms and been held up.

(Photo credit: Anna Throne-Holst on Election Day, before the votes were tallied. Courtesy photo).