Dozens of Suffolk Democratic committee primaries could shift party power

Dozens of little-noticed Democratic county committee races have turned Suffolk’s primary into a fight over local power, not just party housekeeping. In Babylon, Brookhaven and East Hampton, the winners could help decide who gets a seat at the table when Democrats choose endorsements, strategy and leadership.

Each Suffolk election district elects two Democratic committee members, and those town committee members also sit on the Suffolk County Democratic Committee. The county party says there are more than 1,000 committee members across the county’s ten towns, which gives the contest real weight far beyond the handful of names voters usually see at the top of the ballot. On the county board of elections’ candidate list, dozens of these primaries are scattered across Suffolk, underscoring how broad the fight has become.

That fight is happening as voters are already sorting through the June primary. Early voting ran from June 13 through June 21, and the New York primary is Tuesday, June 23, putting these committee races on the same ballot as the marquee contests that draw most of the attention. For party insiders, the result is more than a tally of precinct names. It is a test of which faction can organize reliably enough to control the machinery that shapes future town, county and legislative races.

The leadership battle is already visible at the top. Kathryn Casey Quigley, chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee, announced in December 2025 that she would challenge Rich Schaffer for chair of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee, citing frustration with his leadership and repeated Democratic losses. Schaffer pushed back by calling her a “New York City Democrat,” a line that captured the geographic and ideological tension inside the party. Schaffer has led the county committee since September 2000.

His record explains why the challenge matters. Babylon’s official biography says Schaffer was first elected to the Suffolk County Legislature in 1988, 1989 and 1991, then became Babylon Town Supervisor in 1992. He was re-elected as town supervisor in 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2021. A 2021 profile said he had overseen the election of more than 275 candidates and more than 550 election wins during his time as party chair.

For Suffolk Democrats, the county committee has become the real prize because it can steer who gets backed for the offices that touch residents most directly, from taxes to development to the day-to-day patronage of local government. That is why an obscure set of primaries has suddenly become one of the county’s most important political contests.