ALBANY COUNTY — Democrats voting in Thursday’s primary showed overwhelming support for the incumbent county executive endorsed by the party. Daniel McCoy garnered 60 percent of the vote; his challenger, Daniel Egan, got 37 percent.

But, in two local races for legislative seats, the endorsed long-time incumbents came up short in the primary.

Mary Lou Connolly of Guilderland, who held her seat representing District 32 since 1993, got 200 votes, according to unofficial results from the Albany County Board of Elections. Paul Miller, a retired accountant auditor who worked for the state’s Department of Labor, got 270 votes.

And, Herbert Reilly, of New Scotland, who has, since 2000, represented parts of New Scotland and Bethlehem in District 33, was bested by William Reinhardt, a Bethlehem town councilman, 267 to 244.

“I’m excited,” McCoy told the Enterprise on Friday. “With all the negativity and lies he was putting out, it shows the people could see through it,” he said of Egan.

Egan, a former president of the Albany school board who works as an administrator in the state’s Department of Health, criticized McCoy’s handling of home care for the elderly and his treatment of county leaders, and accused him, in campaign literature, of “reaping the financial rewards of doing the bidding of his corporate insiders and wealthy special interests.”

Egan could not be reached for comment.

The reason for his victory, McCoy said on Friday is, “I turned the finances around, grew the programs for youth, and dealt with the nursing home...I just delivered back-to-back budgets with zero tax increase. There are no budget gimmicks and services increased.”

McCoy, a retired Albany city firefighter and active member of the National Guard, was unopposed in his first run for county executive four years ago. He had served in the county legislature for 12 years, ending his tenure as the majority leader.

In November, McCoy will face Republican Joseph Vitollo, of Coeymans, and Daniel Plaat, of Albany, on the Green Party line.

Democratic voters dominate in Albany County; close to 87,000 are enrolled as Democrats, making up 49 percent of the county’s voters. Twenty percent of Albany County voters, roughly 35,000, are Republicans; 22 percent or about 39,000 are unaffiliated; and the rest belong to small parties.

Just 17,102 Democrats — less than 20 percent — voted in Thursday’s primary. Four Green Party members voted, out of roughly 500; 411 Conservatives voted out of about 2,900; and 577 Independence Party members voted out of roughly 9,200. Again, all primary figures are unofficial, from the Albany County Board of Elections.

Asked about his plans for the future, McCoy said, “Right now, Albany County is where I’m focused...I’ll continue to right the finances of the county. And we still need to work on the nursing home for the 250 seniors who call it home.”

His message to residents is this: “You need to reach out to your representatives and let them know what you want out of government.”

District 32

Paul Miller said he decided to challenge Mary Lou Connolly because he disagreed with the way she voted for privatizing the county’s nursing home.

“I’m happy,” Miller said on Friday. He said he “out-worked” Connolly to win the race.

“I’m not really surprised about the voter turnout based on history,” he said of the fewer than 500 Democrats who voted.

Miller went on, “I think this gives me a better chance in the November election; otherwise, I just would have had the Working Families Party line.”

Connolly was not discouraged about getting 41 percent of the vote to Miller’s 56 percent.

“Out of 1,900 possible voters, only 470 turned out,” she said on Friday. In addition to the 200 who voted for Connolly and the 270 who voted for Miller, another 15 wrote in names.

“As I was going door to door, the feedback was so positive,” said Connolly, who owns an insurance agency. “I deserved to win because of my history. So many of my friends are in a state of shock. People just did not get out to vote. Everybody thought it would be no problem...If we had had a better turnout, I would have won no problem.”

She also said of Frank Commisso, “It’s very sad that the majority leader of the legislature did not support the endorsed incumbent. It was wrong but it was because he couldn’t control me that he did it. He stood with a good old boys group — Miller had been a committeeman for Frank for many years. He wanted his pal to challenge because I wasn’t one of the good old boys.”

Connolly is continuing her campaign for the November election, running on two small-party lines.

“I have the Conservative line and won the Independence line; I do have two lines,” she said, “so hopefully people will get out in November and vote for me. I hope people will vote for the person who has the most experience versus party line.”

Connolly concluded with an edict, “Vote person not party.”

Miller had a different assessment of the results: “I think Connolly has lost touch with the voters,” he said on Friday.

Miller concluded, “I want to thank everybody that helped me out. Frank Commisso and Frank Commisso Jr., my wife, and the unions have been very supportive.”

District 33

Herbert Reilly is unfazed by his 23-vote deficit.

“I will pursue it on the Independence line. I did it 20 years ago, and I won,” Reilly said. “I did very, very well in the town of New Scotland.”

Not as many Democrats turned out in New Scotland, a town where Reilly had been supervisor, as in Bethlehem, where Reinhardt is a councilman, said Reilly, citing a primary for highway superintendent in Bethlehem. Both towns had primaries for board seats.

Reilly said that residents of New Scotland question how a Bethlehem resident can adequately represent them, and he surmised that Bethlehem residents feel the same way about him as a New Scotland resident.

He also said that Bethlehem Democrats may be unhappy with his representation because they want things for their town.

“I think I worked hard for the county. They want things that, sometimes, I can’t deliver. The county legislature is a bigger operation…that shares out funds to the Hilltowns and other regions,” he said.

Reilly sees his constituents at the post office, and they are able to, and do, ask him about county business. “I clearly have a good understanding of what it takes to be a good legislator and balance the needs of the entire county,” he said.

Reilly’s family runs funeral homes — one in Voorheesville and another in Albany.

Reilly is proud of the county legislature working to get community college accessible to residents and he wants to see the completion of the county rail trail project. He said that the rail trail offers families recreational opportunities, and offers the county a way of improving its economy by bringing people to the area to use it.

Reilly has backed Albany County Legislator L. Michael Mackey, of District 38, for a blasting law that would protect private well owners from disruptions caused by blasting. Reilly and Mackey then prepared a second law now before the legislature to protect municipal water sources from blasting.

The continued safety of public water “is something that has to be dealt with,” Reilly said.

Reinhardt, like Reilly, said that votes ran according to town lines.

“I did very well in Bethlehem, where people know me,” he said. “I did not get a majority of votes in New Scotland. Herb was the ‘hometown favorite.’ In Bethlehem, he didn’t get as many votes as I did in New Scotland.”

Reinhardt campaigned on reform of the county legislature, energy and environmental issues, and preservation of the character of communities, he said.

“Those issues did seem to matter” to voters, he said.

“There is a mood around the county that we have to be serious about reforms,” he said.

While he campaigned, many residents asked him about his work with solar energy, he said. Reinhardt is retired from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Reinhardt is also a founder of Solarize Albany, a not-for-profit group that promotes solar energy use.

“I’m happy to be the one who is chosen by the party — the voters of the party,” Reinhardt said. “Now, I’m anxious for Herb and I to work together to see that a Democrat wins the election and not a Republican. I think it’s important that a Democrat with the race. That Democrat is me.”

While campaigning in Voorheesville, Reinhardt said, he learned about the quiet zone committee that is working to have trains silence their whistles as they pass through the village.

“I have been concerned about oil trains,” he said. He met “an active group of citizens” in Voorheesville who want silent trains, too, he said. He heard the noise of the trains as he spoke with a Main Street resident, he said.

“I could see the person’s mouth move, but I couldn’t hear a word,” Reinhardt said. “What these people are going through every day and every night! I’m anxious to meet with people who can fill me in. I want to learn more about what are the ramifications.”

“A derailment of an oil train would be a real calamity all over the county,” Reinhardt said. “The people in Voorheesville are very vulnerable.”

Reinhardt also plans to look into sharing more Bethlehem water with well users in New Scotland, he said.

“I can’t tell you I’ve got it all figured out. I don’t know if the economics makes sense, but it’s something I want to explore,” he said.

Reinhardt is also running on the Working Families Party line.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer wrote about the county executive race, Anne Hayden Harwood wrote about the District 32 primary, and Jo E. Prout about District 33.