Zeldin Going to Washington With Big Win

State Senator Lee Zeldin won a decisive victory over Representative Tim Bishop on Tuesday, unseating the six-term Democratic congressman with 55 percent of the vote. Mr. Zeldin had unsuccessfully challenged Mr. Bishop in 2008.

With 87 percent of the districts reporting, Mr. Bishop of Southampton conceded the race shortly before 11 p.m. Addressing supporters, he said he had telephoned Mr. Zeldin and pledged his cooperation in the transition.

Mr. Zeldin, a Republican and major in the Army Reserves from Shirley, surged in late polling as he rode a wave of anti-incumbent fervor. In January he will become part of an expanded Republican majority in the House of Representatives. As of yesterday, the Republicans appeared set to enjoy their largest majority since the 1940s. The Republicans also took control of the Senate, picking up seven seats for a 52-44 majority with 1 independent. As of noon yesterday, three Senate races had yet to be decided.

The race for New York’s First Congressional District has been watched nationwide, as Mr. Bishop was seen as vulnerable. An ethics investigation over allegations that his campaign expedited permits for a constituent’s fireworks display in exchange for a campaign contribution damaged him. At the same time, outside political action committees and SuperPACs poured money into the district, with a conservative group called the American Action Network pledging to spend $1.2 million to defeat Mr. Bishop. Voters were inundated with television, print, and social media advertising, most of it negative.

Greg Mansley, media director for the East Hampton Town Republican Committee, called Tuesday “an important night for this country.” Of Mr. Zeldin’s victory, he said that “the people spoke loud and clear: it’s time for change. He represents change. He’s a younger face, and we need the younger people to get into politics. Our work doesn’t end now,” Mr. Mansley said. “Our work starts now.”

Jeanne Frankl, chairwoman of the East Hampton Democratic Town Committee, lamented the loss of what she called “an exemplary congressman.” Mr. Bishop’s defeat is more than an emotional loss, she said. “He’s someone we relied on so heavily so for many things that it’s a worry for our community. . . . He went to Washington to work hard, to get legislation passed, and he came home to listen to his community so he could represent them effectively there, and also to help them in every way he possibly could to negotiate the federal bureaucracy. I don’t think anybody here doubts the loss we’ve suffered.”

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle easily won re-election, defeating little known and under-funded challengers. Mr. Thiele, running on the Democratic, Independence, and Working Families tickets, won with 60 percent of the votes, defeating the Republican candidate, Heather Collins, and the Conservative Party candidate, Brian DeSesa. Mr. LaValle, running on the Republican, Conservative, and Independence Party of New York State tickets, withstood a challenge from the Democratic Party candidate, Michael Conroy, taking more than 70 percent of the vote.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo won re-election, taking 54 percent of the vote. He will begin his second term in January with a new lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul. Mr. Cuomo defeated the Republican team of Rob Astorino and Chris Moss and third-party candidates. Eric Schneiderman, the state attorney general, and Thomas DiNapoli, the comptroller, also won re-election by comfortable margins.

Among the questions voters were asked to consider, a proposal to restore Suffolk County’s Drinking Water Protection Program by returning almost $30 million that had been used to cover the county’s general operating expenses was passed by more than 65 percent of votes cast.

Environmentalists championed the vote to approve the proposal. “This is an amazing outcome that should lift the spirits of every water quality advocate,” Robert DeLuca, president of Group for the East End, wrote in a statement issued yesterday. “A win of this size demonstrates that protecting and restoring our troubled waters is not only an issue that is understood and supported by the vast majority of the public, but if there was any question whether clean water was a top-tier political issue, last night’s results clearly put an end to that speculation.”