Michael Nozzolio will serve a ninth term in the New York State Senate.

Voters of the 54th state Senate District elected the Republican by a wide margin Tuesday. Unofficial election results showed Nozzolio defeating his challenger, Democrat Paloma Capanna, by claiming about 70 percent of the votes.

Those numbers included a healthy victory in Cayuga County, where voters had chosen Nozzolio by a margin of 12,761 to 4,261 with 94 percent of the votes counted, according to unofficial results.

A Nozzolio representative said late Tuesday that the senator was unavailable for an interview concerning the results. However, he did release a written statement.

“It is greatly humbling and gratifying to receive such overwhelming support from the voters and the people I am proud to serve in the state Senate,” stated Nozzolio, who also ran on the Conservative, Independence and Taxpayers First tickets.

“Our tremendous victory tonight reaffirms that the people of the Finger Lakes region are more concerned with getting results than partisan politics,” Nozzolio added. “Our State faces some serious challenges and I look forward to continuing to serve the people of the Finger Lakes region by fighting to bring new jobs to our area and providing property tax relief for local residents.”

The 54th district includes more than half of Cayuga County, including most of Auburn. It also includes Seneca and Wayne counties, as well as parts of Ontario and Monroe counties. Nozzolio ran unopposed in 2006 to win his eighth term in the state Legislature, and he was also unopposed in 2004 and 2002.

A family law attorney from Monroe County, Capanna focused her campaign on bringing change to Albany. She ran on a platform that supported universal health insurance, green energy development and instituting a progressive income tax throughout the state, among other issues.

Capanna said during the campaign that challenging the long-time incumbent was a major reason she ran for the seat.

She did not return phone calls seeking comment Tuesday night.

Nozzolio touted his experience leading up to the election, pointing to local projects for which he has secured funding such as Auburn Memorial Hospital and Saratoga Cheese Corporation. He also stated numerous times his commitment to property tax reform and tightening the state's fiscal belt.

However, the weeks leading up to the election saw each campaign go on the offensive with other topics. Nozzolio chastised Capanna for not voting in numerous elections before 2002, while Capanna accused his campaign of ignoring real issues.

Capanna raised questions about her opponent's use of campaign donations and criticized his committee's tens of thousands of dollars in transportation expenditures, while the Nozzolio campaign defended the spending as both legal and necessary.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net