U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi and former Town of Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen survived a Donald Trump-led red wave to gain narrow wins on Tuesday for the Democratic Party in the 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts.
Suozzi defeated Republican challenger Mike LiPetri by 2.5% overall. Suozzi received a total of 177,188 votes, while LiPetri fell behind with 168,165 votes.
In the 4th Congressional District race, Gillen received 182,771 votes, 48.69% in defeating Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito who received 176,623 votes, 47.05%
“I’m a Democrat – a true blue, dyed-in-the-wool Democrat,” Suozzi said. “And I will work with anybody to solve problems because I’m a true blue, dyed-in-the-wool American,”
Suozzi will remain in his House seat he won in a special election following the resignation of U.S. Rep. George Santos amid a series of scandals.
Gillen’s victory reversed her defeat of D’Esposito two years ago. when the Republican won 51.8% to 48.2%. The victor helped give the Republican party a House majority by eight members.
“We put out together a campaign – a winning campaign – that we will emulate in the years to come,” Gillen said.
National attention was drawn to Long Island as its congressional races were determined to be key in deciding which party would assume control over the House of Representatives.
This included both the 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts, with both Suozzi and Gillen’s wins inching Democrats towards a House majority.
As of Wednesday morning, Republicans led the race to control the House but too many seats remained uncalled to determine a victorious party, according to The AP News.
“We’re pretty confident at the margins that we have, that we have elected two Democrats for the Congress,”state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said of the two Nassau districts.
D’Esposito will end his two-year, and only, term at the end of the year.
“We knew this was going to be a tough race,” D’Esposito said before all votes were reported. “We are ready to go to the mat and I am hopeful that as soon as we get the results there will continue to be a Republican representing the Fourth Congressional District.
Gillen was the Town of Hempstead Supervisor from 2018 to 2020. As supervisor, she said she led efforts to revitalize the town’s infrastructure, sued to recover damages for contaminants in the public water supply and passed legislation relating to sexual harassment and veterans’ benefits.
Gillen said her top three issues she will focus on is border security, the cost of living crisis and abortion rights.
Gillen said she will stand strong against anti-abortion extremism. She said she will push to reinstate the protections of Roe v. Wade, pass the Women’s Health Protection Act and codify the right to contraception and IVF.
“It’s time to get Congress back to work again for everyday people,” Gillen said. “It’s time to stop pointing fingers and start getting the work done and reaching across the aisle and solving the problems that we need solved.”
Communities in the 4th Congressional District include Floral Park, parts of New Hyde Park, Elmont, Baldwin, Bellmore, East Rockaway, East Meadow, Five Towns, Lynbrook, Franklin Square, Garden City, parts of Garden City Park, Hempstead, Atlantic Beach, Long Beach, Malverne, Freeport, Merrick, Oceanside, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, Seaford, Uniondale, Valley Stream, Wantagh and West Hempstead.
Suozzi secured his win in a sweep of all three counties the congressional district encompasses, according to state Board of Elections data with all districts reported.
In Nassau County, Souzzi received 129,130 votes, 47.71%, while LiPetri got 127,719 votes, 47.19%.
In Queens, Suozzi received 35,461 votes, 51.82%, and LiPetri got 29,893 votes, 43.69%.
In Suffolk County, Suozzi received 12,597 votes, 52.15%, and LiPetri received 10,553 votes, 43.69%.
This race follows the special election held for the seat in February to fill the vacancy left by Santos, who was expelled from Congress after evidence suggested he had violated federal laws. He has since pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and identity theft in August and awaits sentencing.
Suozzi ran in the special election against Republican Nassau County District 10 Legislator Mazi Pilip.
Suozzi previously served as the District 3 representative from 2017-2023. He opted not to run for re-election in 2022 and instead made a gubernatorial bid but lost in the primaries to now Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“The people sent a clear message that they are sick of the partisanship, they are sick of extremism,” Suozzi said in a press release following his victory. “They want us to work together to solve tough problems like securing the border and reinstating the SALT deduction. I am grateful the voters in Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens are sending me back to Congress so I can continue to fight for bipartisan common sense solutions to help make people’s lives better.”
His top issues in the race were immigration and public safety, restoring SALT, defeating terror and bridging the partisan divide.
“I think that we all recognize that the people in the United States of America and the people in my congressional district are sick and tired of the extremism,” Suozzi said. “They’re sick and tired of attacking each other all the time. They want us to work together and get things done.”
LiPetri is an attorney and former state Assembly member, serving from 2019-2021 as the 9th District representative.
LiPetri campaigned on the top three issues of affordability, securing the border and reducing crime in the Third District.
The 3rd Congressional District ranges from parts of northeast Queens across the North Shore, Mineola, Westbury and parts of Floral Park to the south, Farmingdale and Hicksville to the east in Nassau County and Lloyd Harbor and Huntington Bay in Suffolk County.