To the surprise of nobody, Fred Thiele secured a 9th term Tuesday, with 18,998 votes and counting as more districts report, in one of only two uncontested state assembly races on Long Island.
Thiele, who has served as an assemblyman since 1995, wining the seat in a special election, has campaigned saying that he will continue to work to reduce taxes.
A former Republican, who ran on the Democratic, Working Family and Independence Party, Thiele learned he would not be challenged in July when is former opponent, Jeremy Brandt, 36, of Hampton Bays, withdrew from the race.
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Brandt stepped down, saying that Suffolk Republican Chairman John Jay LaValle refused to sign a Wilson Pakula, which would have allowed him to run on the Republican line.
LaValle has tated that his party did not have the money to fund a race against Thiele and that Brandt would have been a "sacrificial lamb."
Republican Chairman: 'Brandt Would Have Been a Sacrificial Lamb'
"Thiele was a Republican for most of his career," LaValle said. "And he has continued to be supportive of our Republican initiatives and Republican senators."