Fleming wins fourth term as County Legislator

County Legislator Bridget Fleming (D-Noyac), who represents Shelter Island, won her race for another two-year term Tuesday night by a comfortable margin, with 8,074 votes.

But her opponent, Richard Carpenter III (R), who did no campaigning, still pulled 6,591 votes.

“I am gratified that my team and I have once again earned the confidence of Suffolk County voters,” Ms. Fleming said shortly after the polls closed. “Despite significant gains by Republicans across the country, we see here in Suffolk that voters respond to legislators who listen and connect with our districts in a practical and effective way.”

This was Ms. Fleming’s fourth winning race to serve the residents of the Second Legislative District, but she was the first candidate of any party to announce a run for Congress in 2022, seeking the seat currently held by Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley). Mr. Zeldin has lately concentrated his efforts on a run for New York governor in 2022.

Ms. Fleming served on the Southampton Town Board for five years from 2010 to 2015. She first came to the Town Board in a special election in 2010 and ran successfully for her own four-year term in 2011.

Ms. Fleming expressed no concern about Mr. Carpenter’s vote tally given his total lack of campaigning and lack of willingness to respond to any efforts for comments about his candidacy.

Ms. Fleming is now making her second bid for Congress, having lost the Democratic primary two years ago to Nancy Goroff, who subsequently failed to unseat Mr. Zeldin. To secure the Democratic nomination for Congress in 2022, Ms. Fleming will have to win a primary race against a fellow Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket).