Despite national loss, Kerry wins in county, state

by Terry Duffy
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, November 6, 2004

With chilly rainy weather the order of the day, Niagara County residents joined fellow New Yorkers in casting the majority of their votes to Democrat Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who lost the Tuesday Presidential election to Republican-Conservative incumbent George Bush -- by the narrowest of margins -- one state.

Kerry, who also ran on the Working Families line, conceded the race for the White House Wednesday afternoon upon learning that winning the national electoral college vote count was beyond his reach following the loss of swing state Ohio earlier that morning.

National totals showed Bush with 58,715,647 votes to Kerry’s 55,161,182. In electoral votes Bush won with 279 while Kerry had 252. Final vote and electoral tallies in Iowa were still not final as of this writing

With 91 percent of the state vote tabulated, New Yorkers favored Kerry by 58 percent to Bush’s 40 percent, or 3,607,409 votes cast to the President’s 2,495,831.

Niagara County Tallies

In Niagara County with a voter turnout hovering at 55 percent, the margin was even closer. With 100 percent of the county’s 181 districts reporting, the Kerry-Edwards ticket won with 44,072 votes cast to 43,808 for Bush-Cheney, according to unofficial tabulations released by the Niagara County Board of Elections.

Ralph Nader, who ran with separate vice presidential candidates on two different party lines, had a combined 1,675 votes in the county. Minor party candidates Michael Badnarik and Roger Calero scored 138 votes and 21 votes respectively in county totals.

For federal, state and local races, the results were somewhat more predictable. Democrat Charles S. Schumer took the county en route to winning state-wide re-election to the U.S. Senate with 52,270 votes cast to 23,368 for his closest challenger, Republican Howard Mills.

Other county tallies of minor party candidates for the U.S. Senate seat included: Marilyn F. O’Grady, 3,262; David E. McReynolds, 420; Abraham Hirschfield, 350; Donald Silberger, 214 and Martin Koppel, 178.

Congress

In the U.S. Congress, 28th District, Democrat-Working Families incumbent Louise Slaughter took the county with 20,861 votes cast en route to a rather easy multi-county district-wide re-election win. Republican-Conservative Michael D. Laba placed second county-wide with 10,635 votes, while Independence candidate Francina J. Cartonia. took 1,034.

In the 26th District, incumbent Thomas Reynolds who ran on the Republican-Conservative and Independence lines, lost in Niagara County with 21,131 votes to 22,537 for Democrat-Working Families candidate Jack Davis. But thanks to his totals in Erie County -- 42,033 for Reynolds and 39,852 for Davis -- Reynolds won re-election to the seat.

Continuing with county totals for the Eighth Judicial District state Supreme Court Justice, John M. Curran topped the list with 63,736 votes cast, followed by Joseph R. Glownia, 62,884; Paula L. Feroleto, 46,435; Frank Caruso, 29,945, and James McLeod, 3,362.

State, Local Races

In the New York state Senate, 62nd District, Republican-Conservative, Independent-Working Families George D. Maziarz won re-election handily with 46,068 votes cast to 18,407 for Democrat Matthew J. Bova.

And in the New York state Assembly, 138th District, Democrat-Independent-Working Families Francine DelMonte, another popular incumbent in the county, won her re-election to her seat over Republican-Conservative Paula Banks Dahkle by a vote of 28,959 to 16,434.

Wrapping up, in town justice races of interest, all candidates running unopposed, Jon T. Mac Swan won the Cambria Town Justice seat with 1,475 votes, Walter C. Holmes won re-election to the Porter Town Justice seat with 2,601 votes, and John J. Mattio was re-elected as Wheatfield Town Justice with 6,101 votes cast.

See next week’s Sentinel for more post election reports.