Kenneth C. Crowe II reports in the Albany Times Union Republican Assemblyperson Steven McLaughlin defeated Democrat Andrea Smyth 19,685 to 18,736 votes in the unofficial election-night count in the race for Rensselaer County Executive, but Smyth says she is waiting for the absentee ballots to be counted. There were 2,586 absentee ballots cast, "of which 1,345 had been returned to the county Board of Elections in the days before the election," Crowe reports. Smyth would need an overwhelming percentage of those votes to go her way to overturn the election night results. Green Party candidate Wayne Foy also got 565 votes. McLaughlin currently represents Rensselaer County and part of Columbia County in the state Assembly. Once McLaughlin vacates his Assembly seat, the governor can either call for a special election to be held in March, or leave the seat vacant through the end of McLaughlin's term, which expires at the close of 2018. Greene County, and other parts of Columbia County, are also currently without representation in Albany, as Pete Lopez left his seat in September to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new Region 2 administrator. Cuomo has not called for a special election for that open seat either. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.