Johnson beats O'Connell (NY State Senate Dem pickup)

Another One Bites The Dust

In a race that drew big money, big-name supporters and voters in unusually big numbers, Democrat Craig Johnson on Tuesday won the special election for a Nassau state Senate seat and cut the Republican majority in the chamber to just four votes.

With all 264 precincts reporting, Johnson, a Nassau County legislator, led Republican Nassau County Clerk Maureen O'Connell by about 3,400 votes -- 26,452 to 22,929.

Johnson's victory marks the first time a Democrat has won a Long Island state Senate seat in more than 20 years. It narrows the GOP majority in the chamber to 33-29 and could bring the party a step closer to winning control of the chamber in next year's regular election.

The final run included stump appearances by presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and a last-ditch legal battle over allegations of planned voter intimidation that ended just hours before the polls closed when a Brooklyn appeals court put off a decision on the issue.

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