Republican Andrew Garbarino has declared victory in the race to fill retiring Rep. Peter King's 2nd Congressional District seat.

The seat was open after King announced his retirement following serving in Congress for nearly three decades.

Democrats are hoping to flip the district blue behind former Babylon Town Councilwoman and retired Army Reserve Lt. Col. Jackie Gordon. The race has not been called, and absentee ballots are still days away from being counted.

Garbarino has served in Albany for eight years as a state assemblyman. He says he's focused on public safety and lower taxes, and he has stressed that he know what's important to Long Islanders thanks in part to his time upstate. He has been endorsed by King and was joined by him on the campaign trail.

The district includes a small portion of southeastern Nassau County and extends into southwestern Suffolk, including portions of the towns of Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Babylon and Islip.

Gordon won the Democratic primary by a wide margin of over 40 points. Garbarino won the GOP primary comfortably as well by a margin of over 30%.

The district went for President Donald Trump after voting for former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. In fact, the district had not voted for a Republican before Trump since 1992.