As midterms near, Long Island congressional districts seen as key battlegrounds

WESTBURY — Ten days before the midterm elections, national congressional leaders and other politicians from both sides of the aisle are beating a path for Long Island’s two Democratic-held congressional districts — key battleground destinations.

Saturday was the opening day of early voting across New York State, ahead of the Nov. 3 election, and with party control of the U.S. House in the balance, Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to get Long Islanders energized and eager to go to the polls.

The suddenly frenetic stumping comes as President Donald Trump continues to campaign across the country with a focus on helping Republicans maintain their majorities in both congressional chambers, and former President Barack Obama is also campaigning ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

"I call it judgment day," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) said during his second appearance in less than a week on Long Island, this time in Westbury at a reelection event for Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove).

Jeffries said, "The American people are getting ready to render judgment about whether we’re going to continue the extremism that has been unleashed on the American people, or whether we’re going to move this county, move this state or move this country forward."

Both Suozzi and fellow Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) are being "heavily targeted by Republicans," he said, "particularly given the fact that the Nassau County executive is the Republican nominee for governor," referring to Bruce Blakeman.

Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the No. 3 House Republican as majority whip, was on hand for at least two GOP events on Friday — one for Suozzi’s Republican foe, former Assemb. Michael LiPetri, of Farmingdale, and one for Gillen’s challenger, Hempstead Receiver of Taxes Jeanine Driscoll, of Bellerose Village.

"Control of the House [GOP] majority runs through battleground districts like this," Emmer said in a statement referring to New York’s 3rd Congressional District, now represented by Suozzi, which covers parts of Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. "We need to flip this seat, reject the socialist surge on the left, and keep fighting to lower costs for New York families."

On Saturday, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), who is the fourth-ranking House Democrat as chair of the party’s caucus, held a canvassing event with Gillen in the 4th Congressional District, which lies fully in Nassau County. Jeffries had previously attended a closed-door event with Gillen on Tuesday held with local religious leaders.

The flurry of activity comes with the races for Suozzi’s and Gillen’s congressional seats among the 30 or so competitive House contests nationally, though they are rated as leaning toward Suozzi and Gillen. Democrats need a net gain of just four seats to flip the majority of the 435-seat chamber.

If that happens, Jeffries could become the first Black U.S. House speaker. But the past week was, and the next 10 days will be, a patchwork of both parties playing offense and defense in districts across the map. In addition to gaining at least four seats, Democrats also need to keep the seats they now hold — including Suozzi's and Gillen's.

Long Island’s two other congressional seats, held by Republicans Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) and Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), have not been viewed as similarly competitive by independent handicappers such as the Cook Political Report and the Inside Elections newsletter.

In an interview Saturday with Newsday, Jeffries declined to talk about the possibility of him making history.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, because right now we're just relentlessly focused on making sure we win on Nov. 3, so we can end this national nightmare that Donald Trump and Republicans have been visiting on the American people," he said.

Suozzi held a series of events on Saturday, including a boisterous rally in Bethpage attended by about 1,000 building and construction trade union members.

At a smaller event of about 200 Democrats including Jeffries, held at Mirelle’s Restaurant in Westbury, Suozzi said, "I really need your help these last 10 days," noting Trump won his district in 2024.

He pointed out a political action committee aligned with Trump-affiliated Make America Great Again Inc. had spent $10 million to $11 million over a recent four-week period, some of which was used for TV ads targeting him.

Suozzi also noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had been to the district on behalf of LiPetri twice to help raise money, and Vice President JD Vance in June held an event in Bethpage to presumably talk about affordability — but, Suozzi said, instead used the event to "just attack me for 20 minutes, and he said in his speech, 'Tom Suozzi is the worst congressman in the United States of America.' "

"I want to win this race so I can help make people's lives better," Suozzi said, but "I also have a very selfish reason I want to win this race. I want to win this race so on Election Day, I can say to the MAGA machine, I can say to the speaker, I can say to JD Vance, 'Shove it.' "

Mike Falk, campaign manager for LiPetri, responded that Suozzi should have better things to think about than revenge. "Tom Suozzi should focus less on his stock trades and personal vendettas and more on the job of lowering costs and fighting for the residents," he said.