New York Democrats Flip Third House Seat in Long Island Race
(Bloomberg) -- New York Democrats flipped a third US House seat after expensive and acrimonious races.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Key Ballot Initiatives and Local Races Highlight Views on Abortion, Immigration
From Housing to Immigration, Key Ballot Initiatives and Local Races to Follow
The state serves as a bright spot as Democrats struggle nationwide to regain a majority in the chamber that would provide a check on the incoming administration of Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate. Dozens of races remain uncalled, but Republicans are favored to retain their narrow majority.
The flipped seats also represent a dramatic reversal from two years ago, when the Republican Party’s showing in the New York’s swing districts helped hand the GOP their House majority. This year, suburban races were viewed as key to deciding which party would win control.
The battle for New York’s undecided voters centered on two races on Long Island, two in parts of the Hudson Valley and one in Central New York. Freshman Republicans who mostly won by slim margins in the 2022 midterms faced well-funded Democrats who had the added advantage of a presidential candidate on the top of the ticket.
After a day-and-a-half of counting, the race in New York’s 4th District on Long Island was called for Democrat Laura Gillen over Anthony D’Esposito, 50.9% to 49.1%, according to the Associated Press. Earlier this week, John Mannion won a seat from Republican Brandon Williams and Democrat Josh Riley beat incumbent Marcus Molinaro in two races upstate.
New York Senator Kirstin Gillibrand credited Governor Kathy Hochul for her efforts to raise money and galvanize support to the Democratic contenders. Hochul put an intensive effort into shoring up the state party after she was blamed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the Democrats’ loss in 2022.
“The difference between last cycle and this cycle is night and day,” Gillibrand, who was reelected Tuesday, told reporters at her victory party. “We came up with a plan and she was all in from day one,” she said referring to Hochul. “We never in the history of New York had a coordinated campaign.”
The House race has taken on increased importance after Republicans won control of the Senate Tuesday, giving the GOP powerful leverage in high-stakes tax and spending battles next year.
Democrats needed a net gain of just four seats to take back the House majority from Republicans, but GOP gains in races in Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina have offset their losses in New York, putting the party ahead in its bid to retain control of the chamber. As of Thursday, dozens of House races had yet to be called, including several in notoriously slow-counting California.
New York Republicans in 2022 flipped four seats on an otherwise good night for Democrats nationally. It was a stinging defeat that came as voters blamed Democrats for the migrant crisis and rising crime rates that Republicans and some law enforcement officials claimed were linked to bail reform. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi singled out Governor Kathy Hochul for dragging down the ticket. She beat her Republican challenger by the lowest margin for a Democrat in a statewide contest in two decades.
The candidates this year traded barbs over abortion and immigration in rancorous debates and ubiquitous ads — from commercials during New York Mets games to banners plastered across beach towns — reflecting the tenor of the presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump. Local issues like crime, nepotism and New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ indictment also played a role in some of the campaigns.
Two of the 10 priciest elections by ad spending nationally are in the Empire State, according to AdImpact data compiled by Bloomberg as of Oct. 30. Two years ago not a single congressional race in New York made the top 10.
In the key races:
GOP freshman D’Esposito was defeated in a rematch with Gillen in Nassau County. A former police officer, D’Esposito fielded fierce anti-corruption campaigning from his challenger after The New York Times reported he gave taxpayer-funded jobs to both his fiancee’s daughter and another woman described as his lover. He denied the accusations and plastered banners of himself standing with Trump across Long Beach.
Republican Molinaro lost the 19th District in the most expensive House campaign in the state and the priciest in the nation as of Oct. 30, against Riley. Vying for parts of the Catskills, the Hudson Valley and the Finger Lakes region, both Molinaro and Riley appealed to voters by distancing themselves from some of their own parties’ stances on abortion and immigration, and accused one another of lying to the public in a multitude of spots and in a heated debate.
Republican Williams lost to Mannion, a Democratic state senator, in the 22nd District, which includes Syracuse and Utica. Williams had won by a slim margin in 2022, before redistricting removed rural areas that strongly favored Trump and added the college town of Cortland. Mannion, a former teacher, won the backing of the teachers’ union.
In New York’s 1st Congressional District on Long Island, Republican incumbent Nick LaLota beat John Avlon, a former political analyst at CNN and ex-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s onetime speech writer. His party urged newcomers with weekend homes in the Hamptons to switch their vote to his county, while year-round residents firmly backed vocally pro-Trump LaLota, creating a stark divide.
Republican Mike Lawler held his seat in the 17th District in the lower and mid-Hudson Valley, where he battled Mondaire Jones. Lawler had won the seat in 2022 by less than a percentage point while Jones grappled with missteps like alienating some of his progressive base by shifting to moderate positions.
In other closely watched races nearby:
Democratic Representative Pat Ryan, an Iraq War veteran, defended his seat in the 18th District including Orange County and most of Dutchess County, from Republican and former New York Police Department commanding officer Alison Esposito.
In one of the tightest contests in New Jersey, the 7th District’s Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr. won reelection against Democrat Sue Altman, a former leader of the state’s Working Families Party.
--With assistance from Gregory Korte, Laura Nahmias and Magdalena Del Valle.
(Updates with other New York House races throughout.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
What Looked Like a Toss-Up Turned Into a Red Wave. Did Pollsters Get It Wrong?
Even Some High-Income Americans Can’t Afford New Cars Anymore
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
