Democrat Laura Gillen unseats Rep. Anthony D'Esposito in New York's 4th Congressional District, CBS News projects
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- Democrat Laura Gillen has unseated Rep. Anthony D'Esposito in New York's 4th Congressional District on the South Shore of Long Island's Nassau County, CBS News projects.
D'Esposito has been defeated in one of the most competitive races of the 2024 election cycle. D'Esposito won the NY-04 seat in 2022 when he defeated Gillen. She challenged him again in 2024.
Gillen declared victory Tuesday night, and D'Esposito conceded Thursday.
"It's time to get Congress back to work again for everyday people," Gillen declared at her campaign party on Tuesday night. "It's time to stop pointing fingers and start getting the work done, and reaching across the aisle."
This race is one of four on Long Island that is expected to have a big say in which party controls the House of Representatives. The other three have victors projected by CBS News:
- Republican Rep. Nick LaLota defeated Democrat John Avlon in District 1.
- Republican Rep. Andrew Garbarino defeated Democrat Rob Lubin in District 2.
- Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi defeated Republican Michael LiPetri in District 3.
What to know about N.Y.'s 4th Congressional District
The 4th district includes beach towns, Hempstead, Garden City and the Five Towns. A true swing seat, it has flipped from red to blue and back to red, despite having more registered Democrats.
It flipped to red in 2022, and is one of 43 seats nationally that are considered the most competitive in the battle for the House majority. The 4th is the most diverse suburban district in New York.
Gillen, 55, lost the same race two years ago by only 10,000 votes.
"These are the swing district, purple places that typically decide who gets the keys to the White House and who gets the gavel in Congress," Hofstra University suburban studies chair Lawrence Levy said.
National issues were front and center in the race, including immigration, abortion and more. D'Esposito had said he wouldn't vote for a national abortion ban, while Gillen accused him of being "consistently against reproductive freedom."
The two were united in their opposition against congestion pricing in New York City, and both have said they support Israel.
A closer look at Laura Gillen
Gillen is an attorney, mother of four, and former supervisor of the Town of Hempstead, the largest township in America. She came in as the only Democrat in a century with ethics reforms and spending cuts.
Gillen took a page out of Suozzi's handbook, from the congressional district to the north, by saying she's looking for those who want common-sense solutions, common ground, and an end to name calling. She has taken a tough stand on immigration and crime as a moderate Democrat.
"It's going to be my priority on day one to make sure that we start working towards comprehensive immigration reform. We need to secure our border, we need to make sure there's a pathway to citizenship for those who want to come here legally to incentivize them to come the proper way, and we need to fix our asylum system. And this kind of change should be bipartisan," Gillen said.
A closer look at Anthony D'Esposito
D'Esposito, of Island Park, is a former cop who led the charge to oust George Santos. He currently serves as the chairman in the Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology, House Homeland Security, Transportation and Infrastructure, and House Administration committees. He has focused a lot of his campaign on immigration and border control.
He's now fending off his own ethics issues, including accusations of lavish meal spending and reports that he hired a lover and his fiancée's daughter.
"There has been zero ethics violation," D'Esposito said. "People do hire people they know."
