Republican Senator Charles J. Fuschillo of Long Island's eighth senatorial district was re-elected to serve his second term in the New York State Senate on Tuesday when he defeated his opponent, Democratic candidate Jeannette Santos by more than 18,000 votes.

Fuschillo will continue to represent communities in both Nassau and Suffolk counties, including parts of Farmingdale, Massapequa, Wantagh and Seaford in the senate.

Fuschillo, who ran on the Independent and Conservative Party lines, beat Santos with approximately 59 percent of the vote. According to unofficial numbers from the Nassau County Board of Elections, Fuschillo received 56,439 votes while Santos received 38,433 votes.

Fuschillo was first elected to serve in the eighth senatorial district in 1998. In his 2 1/2 years in office, he has focused on what he calls his key points, education and children. Fuschillo said his biggest achievement while in office is the $8 million grant he secured to help expand the construction at SUNY Farmingdale's bioscience park, which is anticipated to increase Long Island's economy significantly.

Fuschillo currently serves as chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee, as well as being a member of the New York State Senate Privacy Invasion Task Force, the committees for alcoholism and drug abuse, children and families, commerce economic development and small business, education, health, labor and transportation.

Some of the recent legislation Fuschillo has authored includes the Telemarketer "do not call" registry and the bill which will match donations given to the Breast Cancer Research and Education fund on state income tax returns.

During his second term, Fuschillo plans to continue focusing on the economy and children on Long Island. "I want to continue creating jobs for Long Island. We are in good economic times and it's important that we look to the future and have a vision toward creating and keeping Long Island's economic conditions prosper," the senator said.

In addition, he wants to get more state aid for local classrooms. "I want to maintain my primary focus on education," the senator said. "My focus has and always will be on education and children."