Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
The Suffolk GOP held its convention last Friday in Medford and designated its slate of candidates for the 2026 federal, state, and local elections.
For Smithtown, the cornerstone of the Suffolk County Republican Party, three well-known names and lifelong community members have earned the party’s nod to run for re-election.
Suffolk County Clerk
The role of the County Clerk is the “cover on the book” of local government. The officeholder serves as the County’s chief record-keeper and administrative head for the County. Overseeing transitions of power, land records, vital records, various forms of licensure, and recording court proceedings are just some of the vital tasks performed by the office.
Smithtown Town Clerk Vincent Puleo (R-Nesconset) ascended to the County office in 2022, when he defeated Lisa Jimenez (D-Medford) by a whopping seventeen-point margin – 58.78%-41.22%. The heated primary in 2022 saw the Suffolk GOP go with Puleo over then-Clerk Judy Pascale (R-Moriches), who had been viewed by party leadership as more in line with Democrats over the response to COVID-19.
Puleo handily defeated Pascale in the June primary by a 60%-40% margin. Puleo was first elected Smithtown Town Clerk in 2005, never winning with less than 58% of the vote. He earned his fifth and final term in that capacity unopposed in 2021.
Puleo is a decades-long member of the Nesconset Fire Department and an integral member of the Nesconset Chamber of Commerce.
State Senate, District Two
The Second Senate district includes the entire townships of Smithtown and Huntington.
For this race, it was no contest. The Suffolk Republican Committee overwhelmingly backed three-term Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James).
Mattera filled the shoes of former Senate Leader John Flanagan (R-East Northport) upon his retirement ahead of the tumultuous 2020 election cycle. Mattera won the open seat, defeating Mike Siderakis (D-Nesconset) by thirteen points. Mattera would cruise to re-election in 2022 over former Suffolk County Legislator Susan Berland (D-Dix Hills), and again over attorney Craig Herskowitz (D-Northport) in 2024.
Mattera is the Ranking Member on the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee. He has been perhaps one of the staunchest advocates for conservative and innovative energy policy. He’s called for creative uses of carbon capture, renovating the antiquated grid, and opening the Constitution and NESE natural gas pipelines to drive down utility costs and get hundreds of trucks off the roads. A devoted union man and former leader for Plumbers Local 200, Mattera is known for his signature slogan, “Be Vocal with Governor Hochul!”
Additionally, Mattera has railed against green-energy mandates to phase out natural gas in new buildings and has been vehemently opposed to the construction of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Facilities at large, but particularly the proposed project on Rabro Drive in Hauppauge. For renewable energy, Mattera regularly states, “we need a plan, not a ban!”
State Assembly, District Eight
The Eighth Assembly District includes the entire Town of Smithtown and portions of Central Islip, Hauppauge, and Islandia.
The venerable Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-St. James) is running for a thirteenth term representing the reddest town in Suffolk. Fitzpatrick, first elected in 2002, is known for his congenial nature with both sides of the aisle and for his status as the most conservative member of the Assembly. Fitzpatrick is no-nonsense when it comes to fiscal policy and labor relations and has been spearheading an overhaul of the State’s university system.
Fitzpatrick has been handily re-elected every time he’s run; he’s never won with less than 60% of the vote. In 2024, he defeated first-time candidate Steven Basileo (D-St. James) by a 66%-34% margin.