Gillen declares victory over D'Esposito; Suozzi, Garbarino, LaLota retain congressional seats

ALBANY — Democratic challenger Laura Gillen declared victory over Republican Rep. Anthony D'Esposito in the 4th Congressional District race on Tuesday to flip a seat for Democrats fighting to gain control of the House.

Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi also retained his 3rd District seat, while Republican congressmen Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino kept their seats, according to the unofficial results.

"It's time to turn a new page," said Gillen, in declaring victory in the Nassau County district. "It's time to get Congress to work for all of us."

Suozzi credited Gillen for her victory and noted its importance for the Democratic Party's power in the House.

"Let’s hear it for Laura Gillen," Suozzi said around midnight, before reflecting on his career in Congress.

"I am so happy with the life choices I have made because I have had the opportunity to do what I have always dreamed of doing," Suozzi said. "I’m a Democrat. A true blue, die hard Democrat."

Suozzi had faced Republican Michael LiPetri, of Farmingdale, a former Assembly member, in the 3rd District race.

The Long Island races played into the calculus as to which party controls the House of Representatives. Republicans hold the House majority with an eight-seat advantage in the 435-member chamber. The new majority hadn't been decided Tuesday.

Earlier, Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand also won a third full term Tuesday, turning back the challenge by Republican Mike Sapraicone, according to unofficial returns.

Gillibrand is one of New York’s two U.S. senators, along with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who wasn’t up for reelection this year.

Sapraicone, a former NYPD detective and security firm owner, waged his first congressional campaign.

Gillibrand had powerful advantages in the race with high name recognition, more funding and a liberal voting record along with sponsorship of bipartisan bills. Democrats also have a statewide voter enrollment of more than 2 to 1 over Republicans.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Garbarino (R-Bayport) defeated Democrat Rob Lubin, 29, of Lindenhurst, according to unofficial returns.

"We have accomplished so much together over these last four years, but there is so much more work to do, starting with securing our border, ending the SALT deduction cap and building an affordable economy for all of us," Garbarino said.

Here's a district-by-district look at how the House races played out on Long Island.

4th District

In the 4th District campaign, Gillen was a strong supporter of abortion rights while D’Esposito emphasized his law enforcement background.

Gillen is the former Hempstead Town supervisor and the congressional district is almost entirely in the town. She contends the federal government should get more involved with flood insurance programs and wants more funding for water quality improvements.

D'Esposito, of Island Park, has promised to secure the nation's southern border and end the flow of migrants, which he said includes criminals, into Long Island neighborhoods.

1st District

In the heated 1st Congressional District race, LaLota (R-Amityville) defeated Democrat John Avlon, a former CNN commentator. 

LaLota said he was "fired up" as he declared victory just after 10:45 p.m. and promised to "continue to fight for you in Washington."

The district covers stretches from the Twin Forks to parts of Huntington, and includes wealthy East End enclaves and blue collar hamlets in Brookhaven Town.

 P residential "coattails" were expected to play a role in close races like this and LaLota supported Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump. Democrats on Long Island and in Washington backed Avlon, saying he had a good chance to flip the seat from the GOP.

3rd District

In the 3rd Congressional District  Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) reclaimed the seat he had left to run for governor. Since returning to Congress, he has made a top priority of repealing Trump’s 2017 law that limited the deductibility of state and local taxes — known as SALT — on federal income tax returns. That raised taxes for many Long Islanders.

LiPetri, who ran as a strong supporter of Trump, has worked as a lobbyist since leaving the Assembly. He served in the Assembly from 2019 to 2021, then ran unsuccessfully for Congress. LiPetri is managing director at Park Strategies, a lobbying firm founded by former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, a Republican.

2nd District

In the district that includes the South Shore in Suffolk County, Garbarino will serve his third term. He is a former assemblyman and a lawyer. It was the first political campaign for Lubin, who is an entrepreneur in the pro sports marketing field. Lubin conceded.

Both candidates said a top priority is repealing the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, or SALT, which hits those with high incomes and high property values particularly hard.

Garbarino, whose constituents were hit hard by SALT, proposed repealing or revising the cap, but it didn't happen. Lubin criticized Garbarino for failing to gain support for his bills to repeal even among his own Republican leadership.

No state other than California is expected to have as big an impact on control of the House than New York. In addition to the four seats on Long Island, there are four other tight congressional races in the state.

With Candice Ferrette and Nicholas Grasso

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.