Here’s my take on this year’s winners and losers in the game of politics.

Winners:

Joe Cairo:  Nassau’s Republican Party chairman can take a deep bow. Although Democrats have a registration edge, Cairo’s well-organized ground game, once again, brought out on Election Day more Republicans than Democrats (32.2% versus 23.6%).

Cairo’s red waves elected a county executive in 2021 and this year reelected supervisors in the three townships. The GOP maintained its county Legislative majority and picked up town and city council seats.

Ed Romaine:  The long-term Republican Brookhaven town supervisor won the race for Suffolk County Executive in a landslide, receiving 58% of the vote. He is the first Republican elected to the post since 1999. Romaine, at age 76, is expected to serve only one term. This means he’s beholden to no one and could govern judiciously.

Jennifer DeSena:  Two years ago, Republican DeSena shocked the establishment when she narrowly won the township supervisor job in the Democratic bastion of North Hempstead. Cocky Democrats believes she would be a one-term wonder.

But, lo and behold, despite big bucks spent by her opponent, DeSena waltzed to a second term with 55% of the vote.  And she had coattails. Republican Mary Jo Collins was elected Receiver of Taxes and the GOP picked may have picked up a town council seat.

Tom DiNapoli:  The state Comptroller continues to be a fearless defender of the taxpayers’ money. Hopefully, his critiques of the declining fiscal conditions of the state and city of New York will serve as a wake-up call for Gov. Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams. But don’t bet on it.

LOSERS:

George Santos:  He was finally expelled from Congress on December 1. In my 50+ years as a political activist, the federally indicted Santos is the worst public liar I have ever come across.

He lied about his education, employment, wealth, and ethnic background. The shameless Santos lied about having a Jewish grandmother who was a victim of the Holocaust and a mother who died of cancer. He used campaign funds to finance a ritzy lifestyle. He spent thousands of contribution dollars at Ferragamo, Hermes, and Sephora. Good riddance.

Jay Jacobs:  Nassau Democratic Party chairman has presided over the electoral demise of his party. Since 2021, Democrats have lost congressional seats, state senate seats, the county executive office, and both the North Hempstead and Hempstead supervisor posts. Thanks to Jacobs’ insouciant leadership, Republicans now control every township and municipality in the county.

Jon Kaiman: His attempt at a political comeback was a major flop. North Hempstead supervisor Jennifer DeSena beat him handily.

Kaiman even lost his home turf of Great Neck. Kaiman has now been rejected by voters three times in a row, including twice by Democrats in congressional primaries. Maybe, just maybe, he will finally get the message that the public is through with him.

NIFA:  The stature of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority has taken a hit with the appointment of Richie Kessel as its chairman by Gov. Hochul. As Newsday pointed out, Kessel received the appointment “despite political scandals, including criticism that he misused funds at LIPA and NIPA prompting his resignation from NYPA in 2011.”

George Maragos:  The one-time Republican Comptroller of Nassau County went down in flames in his race for mayor of the City of Glen Cove.

Running as the Democratic candidate, he was pummeled by incumbent Republican Pamela Panzenbeck, who received 62.6% of the vote. Readers may recall that Maragos switched parties to run for county executive in 2017 and was handily beaten in the Democratic primary by Laura Curran. Maragos, a political empty suit, may finally learn that being rich does not entitle him to hold elective office.

Joshua Alexander Lafazan:  Last year, Lafazan lost his bid to be the Democratic nominee for congress in the 2^nd CD. This year, he lost his seat in the County Legislature to Samantha Goetz, who beat him 57.8% to 42.2%. My guess is Lafazan’s presidential ambitions have been put on hold.