Hello, donors: D'Esposito is not saying 'goodbye'

Daily Point

No postelection vanishing act for D’Esposito

Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, following a hard-fought race that he lost to Democrat Laura Gillen, sent an interesting postelection statement to supporters. In it, the first-term congressman said "my commitment to you, to Long Island, and our country remains unwavering."

"Serving this community is my greatest privilege, and this is far from goodbye," he wrote, adding: "I look forward to continuing to stand with you in the days ahead."

Above a button to click to make a donation is the message: "Taking back #NY04 begins today."

Which naturally leads to the question of whether D’Esposito, 42, will attempt a comeback in 2026. Insiders in the Nassau County and Town of Hempstead GOP believe it’s far too early to talk about such a commitment but that it should not be ruled out.

Two years ago, he defeated Gillen by about 10,000 votes; last week she unseated him by a margin that may be as small as 7,000 votes once certified. But 2026 could mean an uphill climb should there be as much a midterm backlash in the House against President Donald Trump as there was in 2022 against President Joe Biden.

"We don’t know what he’ll be doing," a GOP insider told The Point on Tuesday. "He’ll leave that option open, probably. I think he just wants to keep his name out there, wants to stay relevant."

Said another source: "There may be discussions" of a role for D’Esposito in the second Trump administration now forming, or a return to helping lead the Town of Hempstead, where he served on the town council for seven years. The congressman has denied any ethics breaches stemming from allegations that arose during the race — the hiring of a girlfriend and the daughter of his fiancee and the use of campaign funds for lavish restaurant meals.

His missive to supporters said in part that he’s "incredibly honored and humbled by the trust and support you placed in me throughout this journey."

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Finger-pointing

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Final Point

Party leaders make sense of Election 2024

The 2024 election might be in the rearview mirror, but the postmortem continues as both major parties consider what went right and, for Democrats, what went wrong.

Newsday Opinion, home of The Point, asked the respective heads of the two state parties — Republican Ed Cox and Democrat Jay Jacobs — to evaluate the results. Each responded with a guest essay.

For Cox, Donald Trump’s victory signals a realignment of American politics in both red and blue states, a shift that includes working-class Americans, voters of color, and disillusioned younger citizens in a coalition that is here to stay. Cox says that is true both nationally and in New York.

As Cox writes, "New York may be a blue state, but it is a working-class blue state, not a progressive, ‘woke’ blue state. This is a state where working families want safe neighborhoods, affordable housing, good schools, and economic opportunity. They are not interested in the ideological experiments coming from Albany and Washington. While Democrats are pushing radical policies and government overreach — from gender ideology in kids’ sports to banning gas stoves — New Yorkers are concerned about the dual crises of inflation and illegal immigration."

Jacobs stresses that Democrats have many lessons to learn, and for too long have been focused on what the party wanted to tell voters and not what voters wanted to hear. Jacobs contends that Democrats lost sight of important facts — that the economy always is the main issue, that common sense and moderation win, and that focusing intently on identity politics and cultural issues is not a path to victory.

Jacobs writes that "we need to build coalitions and that cannot happen in a toxic environment that suppresses dialogue. No one should assert their ‘moral superiority’ when it comes to discussing differences. We can’t call ourselves a ‘Big Tent’ party if inside that tent disagreement is immediately met with hatred and vitriol. Scrap the ‘political correctness’ and allow for free and open dialogue. We need to respect opposing opinions — both inside and outside our party. That is the only way we build a winning coalition."

The test of each leader’s take will come soon enough. New York’s gubernatorial election is less than two years away.

— Michael Dobie michael.dobie@newsday.com

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