Incumbent County Sheriff Peter Meskill defeated challenger Ken Lansing in yesterday's primary, doing a little better in Dryden (55%) than around the county (53.5%).
At the state level, the big news was in the Republican Governor's race, where Carl Paladino trounced Rick Lazio. I'd thought Paladino might win, but didn't expect that margin. His victory speech might have impressed me if I didn't know anything else about Paladino, but as it is the thought of Paladino as Governor actually makes me somewhat enthusiastic about Andrew Cuomo for the first time ever. My guess is that Paladino will unite Democrats and splinter Republicans in a bloodbath of a campaign, but we'll see.
Finally, I was pleased to see Eric Schneiderman edge out a crowded field for Attorney General on the Democratic side.
Local results were a lot slower coming in last night, I guess because of the new machines, but here's what the Board of Elections has posted. I've put an asterisk in front of the winner's name. The number of votes after the dash is for the Town of Dryden, and the number in parentheses is for Tompkins County.
Ken Lansing - 265 (2044)
*Peter Meskill - 326 (2370)
Rick Lazio - 118 (660)
*Carl Paladino - 340 (1525)
*Rick Lazio - 2 (18)
Ralph Lorigo - 5 (23)
Write-in - 1
*Gregory Edwards - 197 (1061)
Thomas Ognibene - 206 (859)
Gary Berntsen - 172 (815)
*Jay Townsend - 235 (1099)
*Kirsten Gillibrand - 463 (3381)
Gail Goode - 110 (811)
*Joseph DioGuardi - 186 (762)
David Malpass - 163 (877)
Bruce Blakeman - 84 (388)
These don't include absentee ballots, and are preliminary. Turnout was mediocre:
| District | Democrats | Republicans | Conservatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Dryden 1, 5 | 93 | 17.06% | 76 | 16.24% | 1 | 10.00% |
| Dryden 2 | 47 | 17.34% | 66 | 19.76% | 2 | 28.57% |
| Dryden 3, 6, 7, 11 | 111 | 12.44% | 152 | 14.76% | 1 | 3.23% |
| Dryden 4, 9 | 180 | 21.05% | 71 | 22.98% | 1 | 12.50% |
| Dryden 8 | 112 | 24.09% | 26 | 13.27% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Dryden 10 | 34 | 13.08% | 36 | 14.12% | 3 | 42.86% |