Murray Declares Victory In 3rd Senate District Race, Attributing Closer Margin To 'Anti-Trump Blue Wave'

LONG ISLAND, NY — Incumbent Republican State Sen. Dean Murray led the 3rd Senatorial District race on Wednesday night, declaring victory against Antonio Vargas-Ayala, a Democrat, though attributing the higher Democratic turnout to a "Blue Wave" riding on anti-Trump sentiment.

As of around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Murray was leading with 52 percent to Ayala's 44 percent, with 201 of 202 districts reporting, according to unofficial results from the state's Board of Elections.

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Murray told Patch that he is happy that he won, and "we'll have two more years to serve the people of the third Senate District."

"But it's obvious that all of us, all of the races, were caught up in the national fervor, and the national wave of anti-Trump sentiment that became pretty clear, and I knew that when campaigning, knocking on doors," he said.

"I talked to some people who said, 'You know, you seem like a nice guy, you seem like you're doing a good job, but I'm not voting for any Republican this year."

When he asked why, he was told it was "very simple: Donald Trump."

"We want to send a message, and you know, and that's very unfortunate," he said. "But with that said, I think that, you know, as we say, 'The people spoke.' They went to the polls. They cast their ballots, and this is what we have now."

"We obviously lost some Republican seats," he said, referencing the 1st Senate District and 3rd Assembly District. "We were already in the minority. We are now in the super minority. And frankly, I think what that means is, last night was a big win for the progressive, very progressive side of the left-leaning side of the Democrat Party, because they will now be able to override any vetoes or any pushback from the governor, even though she's part of their party."

"She's a little more moderate, not as far left-leaning as a lot of these DSA members and progressive members that are coming in," he added. "So there may be some discontent there, and with the supermajority, they'll now be able to override any of her efforts to push back against that far left agenda."

It was a closer margin in Murray's race than past years, despite his opponent seemingly not campaigning.

"It was completely caught up in the fervor of the anti-Trump sentiment," he said. "I don't think this had anything to do with me. I don't think it was a reflection necessarily on me or on him. I think it was it was very clear that it was anti-Trump sentiment, and it was the battle lines were drawn."

"It was you're either going to vote Republican, or you're going to vote Democrat, and it was obvious it was very much a Democrat wave," he added.

Patch has reached out to the Suffolk County Democratic Committee for comment. The committee did not respond to a request for Ayala's campaign contact.

This story will be updated. Check back later.