A political candidate in the New York City suburbs went for a night swim in the Atlantic Ocean this past spring and never returned.
Petros Krommidas’s phone, keys and clothes were found on the sands at Long Beach on Long Island. The 29-year-old former Ivy League rower, who was training for a triathlon, had parked his car just off the picturesque wooden boardwalk.
As the months passed, local Democrats attempted to field a replacement to run for the seat in the Nassau County legislature.
But two Republican voters took them to court and won: a state judge recently ordered Krommidas’s name to remain on the November ballot, ruling that he’s still considered missing and not officially deceased.
Now, as election day approaches, voters in Long Beach and other communities on the south shore of Long Island have a curious choice: re-elect the Republican incumbent or the Democrat who seemingly vanished at sea.
James Hodge is among those calling on residents to cast their ballots for Krommidas regardless – hoping to trigger a special election in which Democrats can put forward another candidate to run against Republican lawmaker Patrick Mullaney.
The Long Beach resident worked with Krommidas at the Nassau county board of elections and had been tapped by Democrats to run in his place.
“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.”
The 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 someone 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 qualify as a vacancy that can be filled”.
The judge noted a similar situation decades earlier in Alaska.
Nicholas Begich Sr, a congressman, disappeared in a plane crash weeks before the 1972 election but still won. The Alaska Democrat was eventually declared dead, and his Republican opponent claimed the seat in a special election.
In 2000, the Democratic governor of Missouri, Mel Carnahan, died in a plane crash while campaigning for a seat in the US Senate. 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 serve in the Senate until a special election in 2022, which she lost.
More recently, Dennis Hof, owner of the Nevada brothel featured on HBO’s Cathouse documentary series, died weeks before a 2018 election but still captured a seat in the state legislature.
In 2020, North Dakota legislative candidate David Andahl died from Covid-19 the month before the election and still won. And in 2022, Pennsylvania state lawmaker Anthony DeLuca won reelection despite dying from lymphoma the month prior.
Hodge and other Long Island Democrats argue that Republicans only sued to assure themselves victory as they seek to bolster their majority in the county legislature. They say the lawsuit has only prolonged the anguish for Krommidas’s family.
“I understand politics, but there’s a time to stop and be a human being,” said Ellen Lederer-DeFrancesco, who met Krommidas through the local Democratic Pparty. “Petros is someone’s son, brother, friend.”
The Nassau county Republican committee chairperson, Joseph Cairo Jr, in a statement, vowed the party and its candidates will “show the highest level of sensitivity during these challenging times for the Krommidas family”.
Krommidas’s family declined to comment when reached by phone, but his mother and sister both called for residents to “honor 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 his disappearance, family and friends joined first responders in scouring Long Beach’s broad swath of sand, which is located just east of the New York City borough of Queens.
Some of the missing person fliers they put up with images of Krommidas’s youthful, smiling face are tattered and faded but still visible on telephone poles around Long Beach.
Meanwhile campaign signs for Mullaney, his opponent, are prominently displayed on fences along the main thoroughfares and on tidy residential lawns. The Republican didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.
Along the Long Beach boardwalk last week, longtime resident Maude Carione was dumbstruck at the choice facing voters in November.
“It’s insane to leave his name on the ballot. You’ll confuse people,” said the 72-year-old Trump supporter, who didn’t have plans to vote in the upcoming local election. “In fairness, you have to give another candidate a chance for the Democrats. You have to.”
For resident Regina Pecorella, the decision, while grim, was clear. “If it’s between those two, I’m voting for the person that’s alive,” said the 54-year old independent, who voted for a straight Republican ticket in the previous election. “I don’t know how else to answer that.”
Guardian staff contributed reporting
