2010 State Senate Endorsed Candidate
Lee Zeldin, 3rd Senate District
Political BackgroundCandidate: Lee Zeldin District: 3rd Senate District Website: www.zeldinforsenate.com Endorsements: Republican, Conservative, Independence Incumbent: State Senator Brian Foley District Geography: Suffolk County 4 Cash on Hand: Zeldin: $218,006.09 (11 Day Pre-General Disclosure)
Foley: Not Yet Available (11 Day Pre-General Disclosure) Voter Registration: Republican – 63,517
Democratic – 65,045
Candidate Biography
In just five short years, Lee Zeldin earned not only his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany, majoring in Political Science, but also his Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School. When Lee graduated law school on May 31, 2003, he received an Army ROTC commission as a Second Lieutenant, assigned to the Military Intelligence Corps of the United States Army. In July 2003, before reporting for duty, Lee passed the New York State bar exam; and was sworn in to the New York State Bar, at just 23 years old, in January 2004 — the youngest attorney in New York State, at that time. In September 2003, Lee reported for duty with the Military Intelligence Corps at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, on the Mexican border.
Lee transitioned to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, in March 2004, and shortly thereafter was re-assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Within months, Lee had become a Federal Prosecutor and successfully prosecuted numerous cases.
In the summer of 2006, Lee was deployed to Iraq, with an infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and served on the front lines. Serving in Iraq further instilled in Lee the value of teamwork and camaraderie.
Upon his return to the states, he was assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps, also located at Fort Bragg, where he gained valuable experience as a Military Magistrate.
In November 2008, Lee was one of the most successful Republican challengers nationally for United States Congress (in the first Congressional District, receiving both Republican and Conservative Party nominations), but unfortunately for his supporters, he fell short. Now, at the age of 30, Lee has been encouraged to stay involved, not only in the United States Reserves (as a Captain), but also with his local community in Suffolk County, New York. He recently started his own law office in Smithtown, New York.