John Avlon and Nick LaLota vie for 1st Congressional District seat, showcasing moderate bona fides
Candidates in the race for the 1st Congressional District seat have spent months casting themselves as moderate and their opponents as extreme in a bid for undecided voters who could sway the election.
John Avlon, 51, of Sag Harbor, left his job as a CNN political analyst in February to run against Nicholas LaLota, 46, of Amityville, who is seeking his second term in office. The 1st Congressional District is historically a swing district, with both Republicans and Democrats holding the seat in the last several decades.
In the weeks before Election Day, the candidates have visited civic meetings, festivals, parades and more to make their case before voters in a district that could impact the balance of power in Congress. They've also stressed their ties to the district, with residency issues frequently raised throughout the contest.
A Newsday/Siena College poll shows the race is tight, with LaLota leading by three points over Avlon — 47% to 44% — in a survey of 532 likely district voters.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added Avlon to its "Red to Blue" program, which offers candidates organizational and fundraising support. Still, election forecasters, like Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, have labeled the race "likely Republican."
Avlon has a fundraising edge in the race. He has raised $4,363,459.18 between the time he launched his campaign in February and Sept. 30, the most recent filing deadline, according to the Federal Elections Commission. He spent $2,654,679.79 in that time and has $1,708,779.39 cash on hand.
LaLota has raised $3,869,864.62 since Jan. 1, 2023. He spent $2,367,466.07 and has $1,579,961.10 cash on hand.
A member of the House serves for two years and earns a yearly salary of $174,000.
The 1st Congressional District historically has been a swing district over the last few decades, although it has been held by a Republican since Lee Zeldin of Shirley defeated former Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop in 2014.
It's home to 191,421 registered Republicans, 186,571 registered Democrats and 176,304 unaffiliated registered voters, according to the state Board of Elections.
"It’s a tough district, but if any Democrat can win it, it’s John," said former U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, of Oyster Bay, the former chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who cited Avlon’s ability to fundraise and articulate a message. "The fact that this district is even in play is pleasantly surprising for national Democrats."
The district stretches from the Twin Forks to parts of Huntington and includes wealthy East End enclaves and blue-collar hamlets in Brookhaven Town.
Avlon faces headwinds in Republican strongholds like Smithtown, where there are 37,392 registered Republicans, 24,325 registered Democrats and 26,218 unaffiliated voters, according to the Suffolk County Board of Elections.
Town of Smithtown GOP chairman Bill Ellis said he thinks LaLota’s stances on the economy and the border resonate heavier with voters there than his views on reproductive freedom.
"Number one will be the economy," Ellis said. "It’s hard to judge on the abortion issue. Many Irish and Italian women who are Catholics and went to Catholic schools, abortion was a no, no, no since they were little girls."
While Avlon and LaLota have touted their moderate bona fides, they claim their opponents have taken extreme positions.
Avlon, for instance, said LaLota is too extreme on issues like abortion and is someone willing to "take the knee" for former President Donald Trump.
"My opponent is far too far right for the district to get things done," Avlon told Newsday during a rally for Democrats in Port Jefferson Station's Train Car Park as both supporters and detractors drove by.
LaLota said he represents constituent views on the border, the economy and America’s standing on the international stage and stressed his bipartisan accomplishments.
"People want to put our great country back on the right track," he said in an interview. "They feel they're heading in the wrong direction."
LaLota has endorsed Trump for president but said he does not believe he won the 2020 election. When asked how he reconciles his support for Trump with the former president’s repeated false claims that he won, LaLota said, "Newsflash, we might disagree on a couple of things every now and then, and that’s just OK."
LaLota criticized Avlon for supporting New York's Proposition 1, which would protect people from discrimination based on gender identity and reproductive freedom. LaLota said in a campaign email that it would threaten "the fairness of athletic competitions" by allowing those assigned male at birth to compete in girls sports. Avlon said that LaLota is trying to distract from his stance on abortion by raising the Proposition 1 issue.
Avlon also criticized LaLota for refusing to condemn Trump after his former chief of staff John Kelly said in interviews the former president praised Adolf Hitler while in office. LaLota, speaking during a News 12 debate Wednesday, noted the Trump campaign denied the allegation.
Avlon has written books about American presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, served as editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast news site, worked as a speechwriter for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and as a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a nonprofit policy think tank.
He was not a registered Democrat until September 2023 and notes he received the endorsement of several high-profile Republicans, including former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. He is married to a Republican, PBS "Firing Line" host Margaret Hoover.
"I think that Long Island is place that isn't going to vote for the far right or the far left," he said. "They want to rebuild the middle of our politics, the middle of our country. That's what I'm committed to."
LaLota is the former chief of staff of the Suffolk County Legislature, a former commissioner at the Suffolk County Board of Elections and a Navy veteran. He was an Amityville Village trustee from 2013 until 2019 and unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2017.
His assignments include the House Armed Services and Small Business committees, and he co-chairs the Long Island Sound caucus. He notes helping secure nearly $98 million for Brookhaven National Laboratory among the highlights of his tenure in Congress.
LaLota scored higher than 85% of House members on the Bipartisan Index of the Lugar Center and McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University in 2023.
Still, Avlon noted LaLota scored lower than the other members of the Long Island Republican delegation, U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino, of Bayport, and Republican U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, of Island Park.
Avlon and LaLota also have criticized each other over their residency. LaLota has accused Avlon of having shallow roots in the district because he switched his voter registration from his Manhattan condo to his Sag Harbor home in 2020. Avlon has stressed his love for Suffolk County while calling out LaLota, who lives outside the district lines, for not moving to the 1st Congressional District after previously indicating he would.
The candidates have tangled over issues including affordability, border security and abortion in campaign literature and public forums.
Avlon, who said he supports reproductive freedoms, has criticized LaLota for his stance on abortion and for calling the overturning of Roe v. Wade a "step in the right direction." LaLota posted that statement on his website but since has taken it down.
LaLota repeatedly said he would not support a national abortion ban and consistently has called the matter a "state issue," noting he does not oppose abortions in the first trimester. Avlon equated that stance with support for a ban on abortions after 12 weeks.
LaLota voted in favor of a January 2023 bill that would require health care professionals to deliver lifesaving care to a fetus that survives an abortion. LaLota did not directly answer when asked if he would support national restrictions on abortions in the second and third trimesters.
"I don’t want the federal government involved in this topic more than it already is," he told Newsday while knocking on doors in Elwood on a recent Saturday. "If anybody's got an opinion on abortion, they should make sure they advocate that opinion toward their state lawmakers, who are in control of policy here in New York on abortion."
Both agree on raising the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction (SALT) and say their party is best positioned to do it. Republican and Democratic-controlled Congresses have failed to lift the cap since it passed in 2017.
Avlon and LaLota agree the federal government should limit illegal immigration, but differ on how.
LaLota, during a Newsday TV debate that aired earlier this week, said Congress should reinstate Trump-era border policies like "Remain in Mexico" for those seeking asylum. He also highlighted a bill passed by the Republican-controlled House in May 2023 that would direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to resume the construction of a wall along the southern border.
Avlon called legal migration the country’s "greatest renewable resource" during the debate and criticized LaLota for balking at a bipartisan bill that would have boosted the number of U.S. Customs & Border Protection personnel and directed $1.4 billion in aid to cities that are assisting migrants.
Avlon said LaLota mocked the bill at the urging of Trump, a claim LaLota denied following the debate.
LaLota said he would take a hard-line stance against foreign adversaries like Iran and criticized the Biden administration for lifting sanctions on a Russian pipeline in 2021, several months before the invasion of Ukraine.
Avlon has stressed his support for Israel and said the United States should play a leadership role in working toward a two-state solution with a demilitarized Palestinian state. During the Newsday debate, he said Americans should "stand up to tyrants and terrorists."
Early voting begins Oct. 26.
Candidates in the race for the 1st Congressional District seat have spent months casting themselves as moderate and their opponents as extreme in a bid for undecided voters who could sway the election.
John Avlon, 51, of Sag Harbor, left his job as a CNN political analyst in February to run against Nicholas LaLota, 46, of Amityville, who is seeking his second term in office. The 1st Congressional District is historically a swing district, with both Republicans and Democrats holding the seat in the last several decades.
In the weeks before Election Day, the candidates have visited civic meetings, festivals, parades and more to make their case before voters in a district that could impact the balance of power in Congress. They've also stressed their ties to the district, with residency issues frequently raised throughout the contest.
A Newsday/Siena College poll shows the race is tight, with LaLota leading by three points over Avlon — 47% to 44% — in a survey of 532 likely district voters.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- A Newsday/Siena College poll shows the race between Rep. Nick LaLota and challenger John Avlon is tight, with LaLota leading by three points over Avlon — 47% to 44% — in a survey of 532 likely district voters.
- Both candidates have focused on their moderate views throughout the campaign.
- A member of the House serves for two years and receives a yearly salary of $174,000.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added Avlon to its "Red to Blue" program, which offers candidates organizational and fundraising support. Still, election forecasters, like Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, have labeled the race "likely Republican."
Avlon has a fundraising edge in the race. He has raised $4,363,459.18 between the time he launched his campaign in February and Sept. 30, the most recent filing deadline, according to the Federal Elections Commission. He spent $2,654,679.79 in that time and has $1,708,779.39 cash on hand.
LaLota has raised $3,869,864.62 since Jan. 1, 2023. He spent $2,367,466.07 and has $1,579,961.10 cash on hand.
A member of the House serves for two years and earns a yearly salary of $174,000.
The district
The 1st Congressional District historically has been a swing district over the last few decades, although it has been held by a Republican since Lee Zeldin of Shirley defeated former Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop in 2014.
It's home to 191,421 registered Republicans, 186,571 registered Democrats and 176,304 unaffiliated registered voters, according to the state Board of Elections.
"It’s a tough district, but if any Democrat can win it, it’s John," said former U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, of Oyster Bay, the former chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who cited Avlon’s ability to fundraise and articulate a message. "The fact that this district is even in play is pleasantly surprising for national Democrats."
The district stretches from the Twin Forks to parts of Huntington and includes wealthy East End enclaves and blue-collar hamlets in Brookhaven Town.
Avlon faces headwinds in Republican strongholds like Smithtown, where there are 37,392 registered Republicans, 24,325 registered Democrats and 26,218 unaffiliated voters, according to the Suffolk County Board of Elections.
Town of Smithtown GOP chairman Bill Ellis said he thinks LaLota’s stances on the economy and the border resonate heavier with voters there than his views on reproductive freedom.
"Number one will be the economy," Ellis said. "It’s hard to judge on the abortion issue. Many Irish and Italian women who are Catholics and went to Catholic schools, abortion was a no, no, no since they were little girls."
Jockeying for the middle
While Avlon and LaLota have touted their moderate bona fides, they claim their opponents have taken extreme positions.
Avlon, for instance, said LaLota is too extreme on issues like abortion and is someone willing to "take the knee" for former President Donald Trump.
"My opponent is far too far right for the district to get things done," Avlon told Newsday during a rally for Democrats in Port Jefferson Station's Train Car Park as both supporters and detractors drove by.
LaLota said he represents constituent views on the border, the economy and America’s standing on the international stage and stressed his bipartisan accomplishments.
"People want to put our great country back on the right track," he said in an interview. "They feel they're heading in the wrong direction."
LaLota has endorsed Trump for president but said he does not believe he won the 2020 election. When asked how he reconciles his support for Trump with the former president’s repeated false claims that he won, LaLota said, "Newsflash, we might disagree on a couple of things every now and then, and that’s just OK."
LaLota criticized Avlon for supporting New York's Proposition 1, which would protect people from discrimination based on gender identity and reproductive freedom. LaLota said in a campaign email that it would threaten "the fairness of athletic competitions" by allowing those assigned male at birth to compete in girls sports. Avlon said that LaLota is trying to distract from his stance on abortion by raising the Proposition 1 issue.
Avlon also criticized LaLota for refusing to condemn Trump after his former chief of staff John Kelly said in interviews the former president praised Adolf Hitler while in office. LaLota, speaking during a News 12 debate Wednesday, noted the Trump campaign denied the allegation.
Avlon has written books about American presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, served as editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast news site, worked as a speechwriter for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and as a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a nonprofit policy think tank.
He was not a registered Democrat until September 2023 and notes he received the endorsement of several high-profile Republicans, including former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. He is married to a Republican, PBS "Firing Line" host Margaret Hoover.
"I think that Long Island is place that isn't going to vote for the far right or the far left," he said. "They want to rebuild the middle of our politics, the middle of our country. That's what I'm committed to."
LaLota is the former chief of staff of the Suffolk County Legislature, a former commissioner at the Suffolk County Board of Elections and a Navy veteran. He was an Amityville Village trustee from 2013 until 2019 and unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2017.
His assignments include the House Armed Services and Small Business committees, and he co-chairs the Long Island Sound caucus. He notes helping secure nearly $98 million for Brookhaven National Laboratory among the highlights of his tenure in Congress.
LaLota scored higher than 85% of House members on the Bipartisan Index of the Lugar Center and McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University in 2023.
Still, Avlon noted LaLota scored lower than the other members of the Long Island Republican delegation, U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino, of Bayport, and Republican U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, of Island Park.
Avlon and LaLota also have criticized each other over their residency. LaLota has accused Avlon of having shallow roots in the district because he switched his voter registration from his Manhattan condo to his Sag Harbor home in 2020. Avlon has stressed his love for Suffolk County while calling out LaLota, who lives outside the district lines, for not moving to the 1st Congressional District after previously indicating he would.
The issues
The candidates have tangled over issues including affordability, border security and abortion in campaign literature and public forums.
Avlon, who said he supports reproductive freedoms, has criticized LaLota for his stance on abortion and for calling the overturning of Roe v. Wade a "step in the right direction." LaLota posted that statement on his website but since has taken it down.
LaLota repeatedly said he would not support a national abortion ban and consistently has called the matter a "state issue," noting he does not oppose abortions in the first trimester. Avlon equated that stance with support for a ban on abortions after 12 weeks.
LaLota voted in favor of a January 2023 bill that would require health care professionals to deliver lifesaving care to a fetus that survives an abortion. LaLota did not directly answer when asked if he would support national restrictions on abortions in the second and third trimesters.
"I don’t want the federal government involved in this topic more than it already is," he told Newsday while knocking on doors in Elwood on a recent Saturday. "If anybody's got an opinion on abortion, they should make sure they advocate that opinion toward their state lawmakers, who are in control of policy here in New York on abortion."
Both agree on raising the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction (SALT) and say their party is best positioned to do it. Republican and Democratic-controlled Congresses have failed to lift the cap since it passed in 2017.
Avlon and LaLota agree the federal government should limit illegal immigration, but differ on how.
LaLota, during a Newsday TV debate that aired earlier this week, said Congress should reinstate Trump-era border policies like "Remain in Mexico" for those seeking asylum. He also highlighted a bill passed by the Republican-controlled House in May 2023 that would direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to resume the construction of a wall along the southern border.
Avlon called legal migration the country’s "greatest renewable resource" during the debate and criticized LaLota for balking at a bipartisan bill that would have boosted the number of U.S. Customs & Border Protection personnel and directed $1.4 billion in aid to cities that are assisting migrants.
Avlon said LaLota mocked the bill at the urging of Trump, a claim LaLota denied following the debate.
LaLota said he would take a hard-line stance against foreign adversaries like Iran and criticized the Biden administration for lifting sanctions on a Russian pipeline in 2021, several months before the invasion of Ukraine.
Avlon has stressed his support for Israel and said the United States should play a leadership role in working toward a two-state solution with a demilitarized Palestinian state. During the Newsday debate, he said Americans should "stand up to tyrants and terrorists."
Early voting begins Oct. 26.
Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
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