Nassau County Legislator Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington) defeated Nassau County Clerk Maureen O'Connell (R) in a special election for the state Senate's 7th District seat Tuesday, inching the Democrats closer to regaining control in Albany.

The election was held to fill Michael Balboni's seat, which became vacant in early January when Governor Spitzer (D-NY) selected Balboni as his homeland security chief. With Johnson's victory, the Republican majority in the Senate shrinks to 33-29.

Both candidates brought in political heavyweights Monday for some last-minute campaigning. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) lent support to Johnson while O'Connell got a boost from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Johnson was in his third term serving as a county legislator for the 11th Legislative District. In the campaign, Johnson pledged to support Spitzer's plan to reduce property taxes. His victory means the County Legislature has nine Democrats and nine Republicans. Each party will select a candidate and a special election will be held between 30 and 90 days of the vacancy.

Aside from being the clerk of the county, O'Connell is also a former assemblywoman. O'Connell also pledged to reduce property taxes and tried to paint Johnson as Spitzer's sidekick.

The 7th Senate District covers northwest Nassau County.

Click here to watch the scene at Maureen O'Connell's headquarters

Related Information Long Island's 7th Senate District race heats up near finish line Craig Johnson Maureen O'Connell