ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Democrat Laura Gillen has defeated U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in a congressional race on Long Island, helping Democrats flip a third House of Representatives seat in New York to spark a red wave sweeping across suburban and rural parts were partially flooded to reverse the state during the last election.
The Associated Press called the race Thursday.
Gillen had also run against D’Esposito in 2022, but narrowly lost in a district just outside New York City that President Joe Biden had won by 15 points two years earlier.
This time, Gillen, an attorney, adjunct law professor and former Hempstead city supervisor, scored a triumph in suburban Long Island. A year ago, the Republican Party held all four seats in the House of Representatives representing the island. Now each party has two.
Gillen had declared victory on election night, before the AP determined the winner, and said she was committed to bipartisan cooperation.
“This coalition resonated with a simple message: enough of the chaos, enough of the corruption – let’s work together, Democrats and Republicans, to tackle the urgent problems we face,” she said in a statement. “As the representative for this district, I will work every day to reach across the aisle, cut through the noise and bridge our divisions.”
Her victory provided a bright spot for Democrats in New York in a nail-biting election, given Republican Donald Trump’s presidential victory and the GOP claiming control of the Senate.
In addition to D’Esposito, two other Republican freshmen were also denied a second term in the New York House of Representatives.
In New York state, Democrat John Mannion defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams, whose district around the city of Syracuse was redrawn this year in a manner unfavorable to the Republican Party.
Democrat Josh Riley, an attorney, also defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro in a district that stretches from the Hudson Valley through the Catskill Mountains to the Finger Lakes region.
With these three seat changes, the state’s congressional delegation now consists of 19 Democrats and seven Republicans. Just last year, 11 of the state’s representatives in Congress were Republicans. However, those gains began to erode when Republican George Santos was expelled from Congress after being accused of fraud, and then replaced in a special election by Democrat Tom Suozzi.
New York Democrats sought to avoid a repeat of their losses in the last election cycle by restarting the party’s campaign apparatus and expanding staffing in battleground districts to better reach voters. Democratic national political groups also devoted more resources to the New York races this time, said Jay Jacobs, chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee.
“That was the difference from 2022. In 2022, there was simply no national money sent to New York. New York was taken for granted, so we didn’t have the kind of campaigns or resources that we had this year,” Jacobs said.
Democratic candidates also focused their campaign messages more on moderate voters, while warning that a Republican-controlled Congress could try to ban abortion.
However, the mood among Democrats in New York was subdued, given Trump’s victory. Gov. Kathy Hochul congratulated her party’s winners at a news conference Wednesday, but struck a somber tone as she vowed to fight Trump’s policy agenda.
“We will need all of them to fight on our behalf in Washington, now more than ever,” Hochul said.
U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a rising GOP star who has made a name for himself on the cable TV circuit, won a second term in a race against former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones. U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota maintained Republican dominance on eastern Long Island, defeating former Democrat John Avlon, a former CNN analyst.
Ed Cox, chairman of the Republican Party of New York, said in a statement that voters who elected Republicans had sent a clear message that “they have had enough of the chaos, the crushing taxes, the crime, out-of-control spending and the erosion of our rights.”
“The people demanded change, and last night Republicans delivered,” he said.
