At the time, Flanagan's victory exposed upstate - downstate fault lines within the GOP conference in the Senate, which had been
rocked by the indictment of ex-Majority Leader Dean Skelos.
Hempstead is typically a GOP stronghold, but the party has been
rocked by recent infighting on the town board and the
indictment of Councilman Edward Ambrosino on federal wire fraud and tax evasion charges.