Murray Leads 3rd Assembly District Race

Dean Murray

Republican Dean Murray holds a slim lead in the special election in Suffolk County’s 3rd Assembly District, where Democrat Patricia Eddington held office since 2001.

Murray had a 186 vote lead and 51 percent with all the precincts reporting, leaving Democrat Lauren Thoden with 49 percent.

But 931 absentee ballots were issued in the race, and results of those votes will not be known until the election is certified, which could take a week or more.

The Assembly seat covering part of Suffolk’s South Shore was open because Eddington was elected Brookhaven town clerk in November. Thoden worked on Eddington’s staff.

Murray is the president of D & S Advertising Inc, which prints various free publications and delivers several others, including Long Island Press.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.