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Nelson, Martz urge party unity

Congressional candidates Patrick Nelson and Emily Martz embrace Tuesday night during an event for the 21st Congressional District primary at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls. (Photo — Gwendolyn Craig, The Post-Star)

GLENS FALLS — Democrats gathered at the Queensbury Hotel with coffee and food for the long haul, expecting a close race and predicting a late night.

But by 10:15 p.m., it was clear that Tedra Cobb was winning.

“Well, I think we’ve got a nominee,” said candidate Patrick Nelson, studying the results on a laptop computer set up in a corner of the hotel’s ballroom.

Nelson, a political activist from Stillwater who worked on the last two campaigns in New York’s 21st Congressional District, took the podium to urge his volunteers to keep working.

“We’re going to hit the streets tomorrow, no matter what the results are,” he said. “We’re working to bring this party together, steamroll into November and take this seat back!”

Candidate Emily Martz, of Saranac Lake, also took a microphone to encourage unity.

“This right here is how we are going to win in November,” she shouted. “We are going to rally around the winner!”

Some volunteers didn’t share their enthusiasm.

Cecelia Gookin of South Glens Falls spent the day at her polls. Only 62 people voted.

“It was pathetic,” she said. “I’m just very, very discouraged, after all the work we did, that no one showed up. I thought if you worked your ass off, you could make a difference.”

Others pledged to give unity a try. The event at the hotel was described as a “unity” event to get the party to support the winner.

“I’m going to try to do my best in seeing that the nominee moves in the same progressive positions that Patrick [Nelson] has,” said Nelson supporter Ray Bazydlo of Essex.

Others turned away, saying, “So much for Medicare for all.”

Nelson was sympathetic to volunteers’ disappointment, but he planned to talk them into supporting Cobb.

“It did make a difference,” he said of the comments from Gookin. “I’m going to sit down with that volunteer and explain. We have made a difference. We have a candidate that’s willing to fight for Medicare for all, that’s willing to fight for the values of this campaign.”

Democratic committee leaders in each county had pledged neutrality, and they were eager to start supporting a candidate. They confessed the pledge had been hard to endure.

But the primary went well, said Warren County Democratic Chair Lynne Boecher.

“These individuals have shown that civil discussion, focused on issues, is possible,” she said.

And they were all outstanding candidates, said Glens Falls Ward 5 Supervisor Ben Driscoll.

“No disrespect to the last two candidates the Democrats ran, but I felt the candidates this time are invested in the district. I appreciated that,” he said. “A lot of intelligence and a lot of good listeners. Rather than tell people what they’re going to do, there was two-way conversation.”

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