The Absent Candidate: A New York Election Grapples with a Vanished Man
A uniquely unsettling scenario is unfolding in the New York City suburbs, where voters are poised to decide between a Republican incumbent and a Democratic candidate who disappeared at sea this past spring. Petros Krommidas, 29, a former Ivy League rower training for a triathlon, vanished during a night swim in the Atlantic Ocean. His belongings – phone, keys, and clothes – were discovered on the sands of Long Beach on Long Island, initiating a search that ultimately yielded no trace of the candidate himself.
As the months passed without resolution, local Democrats sought a replacement to contest the seat in the Nassau County legislature. However, their efforts were thwarted by a legal challenge from two Republican voters, who successfully argued in court that Krommidas’s name should remain on the November ballot. A state judge ruled that, as he is still considered a missing person and not officially deceased, a vacancy does not exist.
Now, residents of Long Beach and surrounding communities face a peculiar choice: re-elect the Republican incumbent, Patrick Mullaney, or cast a ballot for a man who may never be found.
A Strategic Legal Battle
The Republican voters’ lawsuit centered on a New York state law stipulating that a person is presumed dead only after being “absent for a continuous period of three years.” County Judge Gary Knobel concurred, stating in a ruling last month that a “‘missing person’ status does not qualify as a vacancy that can be filled.” This decision, critics argue, is a calculated move to secure a Republican victory and bolster their majority in the county legislature.
“I understand politics, but there’s a time to stop and be a human being,” said a local resident who knew Krommidas through the Democratic party. “Petros is someone’s son, brother, friend.”
The legal maneuver is not without precedent. The judge referenced a similar case from decades earlier in Alaska, where Congressman Nicholas Begich Sr. won reelection weeks after disappearing in a plane crash in 1972. He was later declared dead, and his Republican opponent ultimately claimed the seat in a special election.
A History of Post-Mortem Campaigns
The United States has seen several instances of candidates winning elections after their deaths. In 2000, Mel Carnahan, the Democratic governor of Missouri, died in a plane crash while campaigning for a US Senate seat. Despite trailing in the polls at the time of his death, Carnahan won the election posthumously, and his widow, Jean, was appointed to serve until a special election in 2022. More recently, in 2018, Dennis Hof, a Nevada brothel owner, won a state legislative seat despite dying weeks before the election. Similar outcomes occurred in North Dakota in 2020 and Pennsylvania in 2022, with candidates David Andahl and Anthony DeLuca, respectively, winning their races after passing away.
James Hodge, a Long Beach resident who worked with Krommidas at the Nassau County Board of Elections, is urging voters to support Krommidas regardless. His hope is to trigger a special election, allowing Democrats to field another candidate against Mullaney. “We need to stand by and honor his name and memory,” Hodge told the Associated Press. “Let’s give him that victory. It’s the right thing to do.”
Family’s Plea Amidst Political Intrigue
The Nassau County Republican committee chairperson, Joseph Cairo Jr., issued a statement vowing to demonstrate “the highest level of sensitivity during these challenging times for the Krommidas family.” However, the family themselves has remained largely silent, declining to comment publicly.
Despite their privacy, Krommidas’s mother, Maria, and sister, Eleni-Lemonia, have taken to Facebook to call for residents to “honor and vote” for him. Maria wrote that her son “cared deeply about people and his community and continues to inspire kindness and unity.” Eleni-Lemonia described him as a first-generation American who “believed in equality, education, and the power of unity.”
The lingering presence of missing person flyers – images of Krommidas’s smiling face, now faded and tattered – on telephone poles around Long Beach serves as a poignant reminder of the tragedy. These stand in stark contrast to the prominently displayed campaign signs for Mullaney.
Voter Confusion and Ethical Concerns
The unusual situation has left some voters bewildered. “It’s insane to leave his name on the ballot. You’ll confuse people,” remarked a 72-year-old Long Beach resident. “In fairness, you have to give another candidate a chance for the Democrats. You have to.”
Others, like a 54-year-old independent voter, see a clear, albeit grim, path forward. “If it’s between those two, I’m voting for the person that’s alive,” she stated. “I don’t know how else to answer that.”
The case raises profound ethical questions about the intersection of politics, grief, and the democratic process. As election day approaches, the voters of Long Beach are left to grapple with a choice that transcends the typical political considerations, forcing them to confront the unsettling reality of an absent candidate and the implications of a campaign shadowed by loss.
