A former CNN anchor and a retired chemistry professor are facing off in a Democratic primary to elect a challenger to U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota in an eastern Long Island congressional district that has been in Republican hands for a decade.
John Avlon, a senior political analyst at CNN, is running against Nancy Goroff, a professor emeritus at Stony Brook University, who was the Democratic candidate in the district in 2020 but lost by about 10 points.
Democrats have made the New York City suburbs a priority this year in their bid to regain a majority in the House of Representatives. It is one of several districts in the reliably Democratic states of New York and California that are considered crucial to their chances.
The race could hinge on voters’ personalities and opinions about which candidate gives Democrats the best chance to win. Their positions on policy issues are so similar that a local newspaper, The East Hampton Star, headlined its story about a recent debate between them: “Avlon-Goroff Debate, Mostly Agreed.”
Many Democrats, including local officials and sitting members of Congress, have rallied behind Avlon as a new face who may have a better chance of toppling LaLota, the Republican incumbent.
“Republicans didn’t think they would have to fight in this district,” Avlon said in an interview. “They didn’t think they were going to have a real fight, and now they do.”
But Goroff doesn’t turn around. She lent her own campaign $1.2 million, according to federal records. Her allies have also tried to attack Avlon over his early career as a speechwriter in Rudy Giuliani’s office when he was mayor of New York City.
She said she is confident a Democrat can win in the district, which stretches from the sandy Hamptons on the eastern tip of Long Island, 80 miles west, to the outer ring of suburbs east of New York City.
“I think it’s very, very purple and we’re working to make sure that we activate people in this district who want to see someone who works hard,” Goroff said in an interview. “Whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, they’re looking for someone who is actually willing to do the work.”
The question looming after the June 25 primary is whether a Democrat can retake the seat from a Republican.
President Joe Biden won the district in 2020 by a very narrow margin, but Democratic state lawmakers changed the boundaries slightly earlier this year to make it slightly more Republican, potentially giving other Democrats on the island a better chance to win their races.
Since losing her 2020 election bid to then-U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, Goroff helped create an advocacy group that organizes around politically charged school board races. Her campaign says she successfully helped defeat 20 right-wing candidates.
Avlon is best known for his time as a CNN personality, but he also worked as an editor at The Daily Beast, an online news site. He also helped found the centrist political group No Labels and wrote books on political polarization.
Both Democrats support protecting abortion rights and warn about what a federal government controlled by Republicans could do to restrict women’s reproductive rights more broadly. Their criticism of LaLota is similar, characterizing the freshman congressman as too deferential to Donald Trump and more interested in political glory than passing legislation.
Both candidates point to a host of explanations for why Republicans did well in recent elections on Long Island, which has been receptive to conservative candidates in recent elections. Their explanations include lagging Democratic turnout, the strength of certain candidates and voters’ fears that crime in New York City is spilling over into the suburbs.
In a statement, LaLota said: “As they fight to see who can most appease the far left, I am focused on putting results over rhetoric and fighting for the community I grew up in.”
An exception to the Republicans’ success was the recent special election in a congressional district once represented by George Santos that includes parts of the New York borough of Queens and northern Long Island. In that race, Democrat Tom Suozzi, an established political figure in the area, defeated a lesser-known Republican, Mazi Pilip. He did this in part by running a centrist campaign that Democrats hope to repeat in other suburban races this fall.
Avlon hopes to duplicate that winning formula. He often talks about how Democrats need to attract moderates and independent voters, as well as some Republicans who have become dissatisfied with the Republican Party under Trump.
“There’s a reason I’m running as a common-sense Democrat,” he said. “In every swing district, the candidate and party that holds the center will win.”
Ed Cox, chairman of the Republican Party of New York, said it will be difficult for a Democrat to win on the island this year, especially in this district, given the shift toward the Republican Party over the past decade and the more Republican-friendly configuration. after redistribution.
“Long Island is once again a Republican bastion,” he said.
