A candidate for local office in New York disappeared months ago. He could still win | New York

A suburban New York political candidate went for a night swim in the Atlantic Ocean last spring and never returned.

Petros Krommidas’ phone, keys and clothes were found on the sand of Long Beach, Long Island. The 29-year-old former Ivy League rower, who was training for a triathlon, had parked his car just off the picturesque boardwalk.

Over the months, local Democrats tried to find a replacement to run for the Nassau County Legislature seat.

But two Republican voters took them to court and won: A state judge recently ordered that Krommidas’ name remain on the November ballot, ruling that he was still considered missing in action and not officially deceased.

Now, as Election Day approaches, voters in Long Beach and other Long Island South Shore communities have a curious choice: re-elect the Republican incumbent or the Democrat who apparently disappeared at sea.

James Hodge is among those calling on residents to vote for Krommidas regardless — hoping to trigger a special election in which Democrats can field another candidate to run against Republican lawmaker Patrick Mullaney.

The Long Beach resident worked with Krommidas on the Nassau County Board of Elections and was tapped by Democrats to run in his place.

“We must stand by him and honor his name and his memory,” Hodge told the Associated Press. “Let’s give him this victory. It’s the right thing to do.”

Republican voters argued in their lawsuit that Democrats couldn’t claim Krommidas was dead because authorities still considered him a missing person. They pointed to a New York state law that says a person is presumed dead after being “absent for a continuous period of three years.”

A county judge, Gary Knobel, agreed, writing in his ruling last month that “‘missing person’ status does not constitute a vacancy that can be filled.”

The judge noted a similar situation decades earlier in Alaska.

Congressman Nicholas Begich Sr. disappeared in a plane crash weeks before the 1972 election, but still won. The Alaska Democrat was ultimately declared dead, and his Republican opponent claimed the seat in a special election.

In 2000, Democratic Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash while campaigning for a U.S. Senate seat. Although Carnahan was trailing in the polls when he died, he made a political comeback after his death and narrowly defeated his Republican opponent, John Ashcroft. Carnahan’s widow, Jean, was appointed to the Senate until a special election in 2022, which she lost.

Most recently, Dennis Hof, owner of the Nevada brothel featured in the HBO documentary series Cathouse, died weeks before the 2018 election but still won a seat in the state Legislature.

In 2020, North Dakota legislative candidate David Andahl died of Covid-19 the month before the election and still won. And in 2022, Pennsylvania state lawmaker Anthony DeLuca won re-election despite dying from lymphoma the previous month.

Hodge and other Long Island Democrats say Republicans filed the lawsuit only to ensure victory as they seek to strengthen their majority in the county Legislature. They say the trial has only prolonged the anguish of Krommidas’ family.

“I understand politics, but there is a time to stop and become a human being,” said Ellen Lederer-DeFrancesco, who met Krommidas through the local Democratic Party. “Petros is someone’s son, brother, friend.”

Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo Jr. promised in a statement that the party and its candidates would “exhibit the highest level of sensitivity during this difficult time for the Krommidas family.”

Krommidas’ family declined to comment when contacted by phone, but his mother and sister both called on residents to “honor him and vote” for him in recent Facebook posts.

“My Peter cared deeply about people and his community and continues to inspire kindness and unity in our community,” his mother, Maria, wrote.

Eleni-Lemonia Krommidas, his sister, described him in her own post as a first-generation American who loved his country and “believed in equality, education and the power of unity.”

In the days after her disappearance, her family and friends joined first responders in scouring the vast stretch of sand in Long Beach, located just east of the New York borough of Queens.

Some of the missing persons fliers they posted with images of Krommidas’ young, smiling face are tattered and faded but still visible on telephone poles around Long Beach.

Meanwhile, campaign signs for Mullaney, his opponent, are displayed prominently on fences along major thoroughfares and on tidy residential lawns. The Republican did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Along the Long Beach Boardwalk last week, longtime resident Maude Carione was stunned by the choice voters faced in November.

“It’s insane to leave your name on the ballot. You’re going to confuse people,” said the 72-year-old Trump supporter, who had no plans to vote in the upcoming local elections. “In all honesty, you have to give another candidate a chance for the Democrats. You have to do it.”

For resident Regina Pecorella, the decision, although dark, was clear. “If it’s between those two, I’m voting for the person who’s alive,” said the 54-year-old independent, who voted straight Republican in previous elections. “I don’t know how else to answer.”

Guardian staff contributed to the report