Assemblyman Tim Gordon is going back to state assembly for another two years after besting his Republican challenger Steve McLaughlin on Election night.
Gordon, who is the state’s only Independence Party assemblyman and Bethlehem’s Independence chairman, got 34,289 votes to McLaughlin’s 22,610 votes. Being re-elected after one term in office, Gordon campaigned on his record and said there was more work to be done with his Democratic caucus.
McLaughlin ran a campaign that was highly critical of Gordon, citing taxpayer waste and the dysfunctional Democratic assembly majority that Gordon sided with. But it wasn’t enough to sway enough voters in a district that covers four counties and was the former seat of Republican Pat Casale who endorsed McLaughlin.
The state’s assembly will remain heavily Democratic, but for the first time since 1965 the state’s Senate will shift to a Democratic majority, which will give New York a Democratic governor and legislature.
This was McLaughlin’s first run for public office. The 108th District contains Columbia, Rensselaer, Greene and Albany counties.`