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Veteran East End GOP politico expected to endorse Democrat Bishop for Congress

COURTESY PHOTO | Mr. and Mrs. John Behan in a photo from his Facebook page.

Decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran, former state assemblyman and former East Hampton Town Republican chairman John Behan of Montauk will make a major announcement next Monday about the race for Congress on eastern Long Island.

Mr. Behan is expected to endorse the incumbent, Democrat Tim Bishop, who nearly lost two years ago to Republican challenger Randy Altschuler, a businessman who is seeking the seat again this year. Mr. Behan says he will appear with Mr. Bishop to make his announcement at a press conference at La Bodega Restaurant at 752 Montauk Highway (on the Plaza) in Montauk at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, June 4.

Mr. Behan told the East Hampton Press he favored Mr. Bishop over Mr. Altschuler.

Mr. Behan represented the East End in the New York Assembly from from 1978 to 1995 and was a driving force behind the establishment of the Assembly’s Veterans Affairs Committee. A decorated Marine Corps veteran who was severely wounded in combat operations in Vietnam, Behan served as director of the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs from 1995 to 1998.