On a night where the Democratic party suffered a shellacking at the top of the ticket, the side of cold comfort comes from its New York contingent, which had a decent showing in a set of key races for the House of Representatives. Seven contests across the state were targeted as key for the party to regain control of the Congress, a goal that is still within reach despite Republicans taking hold of the Senate and the Presidency.
Three Democrats won in districts that had just recently flipped to Republicans. Laura Gillen defeated Anthony D’Esposito in southwestern Long Island’s 4th District, a seat which D’Esposito had claimed just two years ago in a major upset that was crucial to Republican control of the House of Representatives. D’Esposito found himself mired in scandal in the months leading up to the election, as it was revealed that he had given jobs in his office to his mistress and his fiancée’s daughter. Josh Riley unseated Mark Molinaro to claim New York’s 19th District in the state’s “southern triangle,” another Republican incumbent who only recently took office in 2023. The final flipped seat claimed by Democrats came in the John Mannion’s victory against Brandon Williams for central New York’s 22nd District, who also took office 2023.
Democrats also protected recently-regained House seats. Tom Suozzi fended off a challenge from Mike LiPetri for Long Island’s 3rd District, keeping the seat he gave up a few years ago for an unsuccessful run for governor against Kathy Hochul. In that time, the seat was claimed by George Santos, who was then expelled from Congress within less than a year, paving the way for his return. Pat Ryan successfully defended his House seat in the Hudson Valley’s 18th District against Alison Esposito, a 25-year veteran of the NYPD who previously ran as Lieutenant Governor alongside Lee Zeldin in 2022.
That leaves two of the races targeted by the Democrats that did not go their way. In Long Island’s 1st District, Republican Representative Nick LaLota brushed off a challenge from John Avlon, a former political pundit on CNN. Mike Lawler cruised to victory against Mondaire Jones in the lower Hudson Valley’s 17th District, with a lead of over 10% as of this writing with over 70% of the vote tallied. Jones also had to contend with a spoiler candidate in Anthony Frascone, who played the system by running and winning in the overlooked Working Families party primary, despite being vocally disavowed by the progressive organization.
Despite the good showing in the Empire State, it remains to be seen if the Democrats can win the 28 seats they still need to regain control of the House and counter the Republican Senate and Trump White House.
