Incumbent Anthony D’Esposito (R) and Laura Gillen (D) are running in the general election for New York’s 4th Congressional District on November 5, 2024.
This race is a rematch of 2022, when D’Esposito defeated Gillen 51.8%-48.2%. D’Esposito is one of 14 Republicans to win in a district that President Joe Biden (D) won in 2020. University of Virginia Center for Politics analyst Kyle Kondik said: “You could argue that just because of the makeup of the district that that’s the best Democratic House target in the whole country.”
D’Esposito is the first Republican to represent the 4th District since 1997. Before entering Congress, D’Esposito was a member of the Hempstead Town Council from 2016 to 2023. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Hofstra University in 2004. Previously, D’Esposito was a detective for the New York Police Department.
Gillen graduated from Georgetown University and later earned a degree from New York University’s School of Law. She was the Hempstead Town Supervisor from 2018 to 2020. She has worked as an attorney and as an adjunct law professor at Hofstra University.
D’Esposito said he’s running for re-election “…in order to continue fighting for commonsense Long Island values in Congress and to ensure our district remains represented by someone focused on advancing the interests of Nassau County neighbors, and NOT the regressive policies of Washington progressives.” He said that voters supported him because they saw him as more moderate compared to Democrats: “Many people feel the Democrats in New York have gone too far to the left. They’ve seen the implementation of cashless bail. They’ve seen the state legislature really try to change suburban communities into what we see in the five boroughs… Voters see someone like me as a person with common sense.”
In an interview, Gillen said: “Long island’s congressional delegation had a long tradition of bipartisan representation where voices on both sides collectively advocated for residents from Atlantic beach to Montauk. We need to reclaim that tradition to ensure our concerns are addressed no matter the political landscape.” Gillen has criticized D’Esposito as more focused on partisan votes, rather than working for the district. In a post on X, Gillen said: “Anthony D’Esposito puts partisan pandering and grandstanding over results. In Congress, I’ll spend my time working to solve problems to deliver for NY-04 and the American people.”
Hofstra University professor Lawrence Levy said the withdrawal of Joe Biden (D) and the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris (D) could help Gillen’s chances: “Harris ascending to the top of the ticket helps the Democrats across the board with younger voters who were looking for an alternative… with Asian voters who have been leaning towards the Republicans… with Black voters in particular. And I think that’s the one that gives Democrats on Long Island, particularly in the fourth district now held by Anthony D’Esposito (R), some hope.” To read more about Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, click here
Republicans have pointed to recent wins the party has had on Long Island as a sign they can win again in a presidential year. Suffolk GOP chair Jesse Garcia said: “People are responding to the campaign operations, to the candidates, to this committee’s hard work on giving Republicans a chance… They see what’s going on in Albany, in D.C. under one party rule and they are rejecting that, and we’re giving them the tools and candidates to reject those policies.” D’Esposito said: “Not only are we winning, but we’re winning in places that have historically been Democrat. That momentum is continuing. The pendulum is continuing to swing.”
According to the most recent financial reports, D’Esposito had raised $3.3 million and spent $1.2 million, while Gillen raised $3.2 million and spent $730,410. To see more campaign finance data, click here.
New York conducted redistricting between the 2022 and 2024 elections. As a result, district lines in this state changed. To review how redistricting took place in New York and to see maps of the new districts, click here. For a list of all states that drew new district lines between 2022 and 2024, click here.
New York’s 4th Congressional District is one of 34 congressional districts with a Republican incumbent or an open seat the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is targeting in 2024. To read about DCCC targeting initiatives, click here. For a complete list of DCCC targeted districts, click here.
All 435 U.S. House seats are up for election in 2024. Republicans have a 220 to 212 majority with three vacancies. As of June 2024, 45 members of the U.S. House had announced they were not running for re-election. To read more about the U.S. House elections taking place this year, click here.
Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 56.8%-42.2%.