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Politics & Government

Weisenberg 'Surprised' by Close Election

Assemblyman said Republicans in the 20th District turned out in droves.

Despite battling the anti-Democrat sentiment that swept the country, Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg said he was still "very surprised" that his Republican opponent came within 1,800 votes of

"It was unbelievable. Are you kidding me?" Weisenberg said the day after he won re-election to the 20th Assembly District.

He said the Republicans turned out in force at the polls on Tuesday while many Democrats stayed home, which he in large part attributed to his narrow 18,989-to-17,194-vote victory over Josh Wanderer. While he usually trounces his Republican opponents by at least a 2-to-1 margin, the incumbent assemblyman barely received 52 percent of the vote against Wanderer. He said he felt the negative backlash that has been unleashed against President Barack Obama.

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"It was a Republican election," Weisenberg said. "I was surprised to see that many people vote Republican. The Democratic population just didn't come out to vote. But what I always said proved once again to be true: If you do a good job, you will get elected. I do what's important and that's helping the people."

Wanderer, a tax attorney from Lawrence, said that even though he lost, he was extremely proud of the results in what amounted to his first run for public office.

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"It was the first time Harvey has faced a real challenger," Wanderer said on Wednesday afternoon.

Wanderer said that in Weisenberg's 2006 race against Republican opponent Francis McQuade, the Democrat won by about 15,000 votes. He added that he won the Five Towns vote decisively, including garnering about 1,500 more votes than his opponent in Lawrence and Cedarhurst.

"I'm very proud of the campaign I ran," Wanderer said. "It was civil, I was clear on the issues and I'm proud of the results.

"I always knew that it was going to be close," he added. "I knew that neither one of us was going to run away with it. But I had hoped that I would be at the other end of the close race. I do have a newfound respect for anyone who undertakes this."

Wanderer said if he had to change anything about his campaign, he would have started sooner. "As my wife pointed out, three months ago 500 people knew my name. Last night, more than 17,000 people voted for me," he said.

He added that he has not yet decided if he will run for office in the future.

Weisenberg said his main priority in his next term will be to bring the Democratic and Republican legislators together "to get things done." He said they will have to work cooperatively to get the state on solid financial footing. He also wants to continue to fight for Long Island's fair share of resources.

In addition, he wants to hold the line on taxes and fight any cuts to health care and education.

"I'm in a leadership position and I have access to things other legislators don't. I'm looking forward to the challenge," he said.

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