Padavan Swamps Lancman

Fourteen-term incumbent Republican State Senator Frank Padavan swamped his Democratic opponent, Rory Lancman, by a 62-38 margin. With 70 percent of the vote counted, Padavan led 27,332 to Lancmans 16,502.
Lancman received three percent fewer votes than did Morshed Alam, the 1998 Democratic candidate against Padavan. Alam, who was given no support from the Queens Democratic Organization or the statewide Democratic Senate Committee largely because he was Bangladeshi, received 41 percent of the vote against Padavan.
When Padavan Campaign Headquarters received word that their candidate had won another re-election, a faint celebration ensued as Padavan supporters agreed that this was no surprise.
"What happened to Frank?" a Padavan supporter could be heard saying after she heard the feeble cheers from the crowd.
"Oh you didnt hear?" said another supporter. "Padavan won…and he won big."
"Oh well that figures," the inquiring supporter replied. "This election was a shoe-in…so whats going on with Bush, is he ahead in the polls?"
The mood drastically changed once Padavan entered the Reception House in Flushing for his victory celebration to greet his supporters and thank them for being by his side through all of the campaigning. Wild applause greeted the senator as he waved his arms in celebration to approach the podium and address his crowd.
Padavan has long contended that his district has a 40 percent base Democratic vote. A base vote is that part of the electorate that will vote for a candidate who is a nominee of a particular party regardless of any other factor. To a great extent, that seems to have been borne out in election results. For Lancman to have received fewer than 40 percent of the vote is a major blow to the Queens Democratic organization, who supported Lancman with everything they had. It is also a blow to the hopes of the Democrats in the State Senate in their efforts to win back the Senate from the Republican majority.
The Padavan victory is also in large part attributable to a deeply efficient and sparkling campaign run by Padavan and by the Northeast Queens Republican Party. It was hard to find a street in much of the district without Padavan lawn signs or posters. Padavan himself went everywhereincluding Democratic Party strongholdsin a relentless and ultimately victorious campaign.
END