Long Island incumbents hang on in chaotic GOP primary plagued by scandals and infighting

Two top Suffolk County Republicans fended off primary challengers Tuesday night — including one town leader who dodged a growing controversy with a major boost from local police unions.Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim appeared to have narrowly held onto his seat after a vicious GOP primary against Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta with a 700-vote lead, according to unofficial county Board of Elections tallies on Wednesday.The adult boyfriend of Wehrheim’s daughter had been arrested for stalking Trotta just two days before the election but any bad press was countered by strong backing from the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association in favor of the seven-year incumbent.“Last night, the people of Smithtown made their voices heard loud and clear,” Wehrheim told The Post on Wednesday.Some 400 PBA officers were said to have campaigned door-to-door for Wehrheim or worked phone banks“Ed Wehrheim and Smithtown are the embodiment of the Back The Blue movement,” PBA President Lou Civello said in an interview.Civello said the union would never support Trotta, who he called a “RINO,” or “Republican in name only,” and said his Zohran Mamdani-aligned stance on deferring some responsibility from cops over to mental health professionals and social workers makes him a “traitor to the party” and inspired the PBA’s mobilization efforts.Trotta, a 25-year Suffolk police veteran and the department’s 2001 detective of the year, told The Post he believes the real reason behind the PBA’s efforts is because of the role he played in helping lock up former police commissioner James Burke — who served 40 months for beating a handcuffed inmate with a group of officers and covering it up.Meanwhile, Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth crushed challenger Brooke Lupinacci with 61% of the vote, also securing the top spot on the ballot for the Conservative party as well as the Republican nomination in the deep red district.Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep...