Island Vote 2014: Nassau Legislator Dave Denenberg still on ballot for state Senate despite bowing out

The Nassau lawmaker who dropped his bid for state Senate after being slapped with a fraud lawsuit will still be listed on the ballot come Election Day.
As News 12 has reported, Nassau Legislator Dave Denenberg publicly bowed out of the race after being accused of billing a law firm client for $2 million worth of work he didn't do. Even though the Democrat has dropped his bid, his name will still appear on the ballot and a "Dave Denenberg for state Senate" sign still hangs above his district office in Bellmore.
The chairman of Nassau Democratic Party says the decision was made to leave Denenberg on the ballot because of the difficulty in finding a replacement who could mount a strong campaign in five weeks.
Political analyst Larry Levy says there's a chance Denenberg could still win a good number of votes, either from people who vote along party lines, or from voters who haven't heard about the scandal. "He is very well known in the district and popular in the area that he represents as a county legislator," Levy says.
But analyst Michael Dawidziak says he thinks the Republican candidate, Michael Venditto, has the edge. "Most political observers think Venditto wins as long as he doesn't do anything stupid," Dawidziak says.
Venditto says he's not taking anything for granted. "I'm running like I'm down in the polls, which is the way you should always run, but we feel very good about our chances from here on out," the candidate says.
Denenberg did not return calls to comment on this story.