Still no GOP candidate in CD4 while CD3 now has two

Daily Point

Will Cairo coax D’Esposito into making a run?

With state Republicans gathering at the Garden City Hotel next week to formally name their slate of state candidates, one glaring omission has political insiders scratching their heads: Will Anthony D'Esposito run for his old 4th Congressional District seat? The GOP will need to make a choice by the end of the month, when petitioning for the seat begins.

The lack of clarity on the CD4 seat, one of the most watched in the nation, is compounded by the GOP's inability to clear the field in neighboring CD3. A GOP primary is very likely between the party's pick of Mike LiPetri and the insurgent effort of Greg Hach for the right to challenge incumbent Democrat Tom Suozzi. Suozzi has a considerable war chest, and a GOP primary only deletes the reserves of his challengers. (More below on CD3.)

Rumors for weeks have swirled about why D'Esposito's name hasn't already been announced. D’Esposito won the CD4 seat for one term, defeating Laura Gillen in 2022. He then lost the seat to Gillen in '24 by just 8,600 votes. Behind the scenes, sources have told The Point there are several considerations, but the decision is D’Esposito's to make. Nassau County GOP chair Joe Cairo, his longtime mentor, is working hard to convince D’Esposito to come back and run, a party source said.

But sources also say there are ample reasons why D'Esposito may not be eager to jump into the race.

First, even with D'Esposito's base in the GOP stronghold of Hempstead Town, and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman at the top of the Republican ticket, the 2026 midyear prospects don't look great. Gov. Kathy Hochul is crushing Blakeman, the presumptive GOP nominee, in a Siena Research Institute poll released Wednesday. Hochul has a 26-point lead over Blakeman, although some critics say it is overweighted to city voters. The Cook Report, one of the venerable political handicappers, last month changed its rating of the CD4 race from a tossup to lean Democratic as almost all polling shows Democrats prevailing in a generic House ballot.

Add to that, D'Esposito just started in January as the inspector general for the U.S. Labor Department. And the first thing on his plate is an investigation into Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer for allegedly having an affair with a subordinate. D'Esposito faced his own scandal for allegedly putting his fiancée's daughter and a mistress on his payroll, according to a New York Times story in 2024. D'Esposito denied violating House ethics rules.

The Hatch Act restricts federal workers from engaging in political activity. So does D'Esposito want to give up a new federal job paying around $200,000 and more federal pension credits after going through a daunting Senate confirmation to get it? And another campaign is sure to dredge up old ethics concerns about patronage.

The uncertainly around a D'Esposito nomination has led to rumors that a possible Republican contender is Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. Republican sources said Ryder was not seeking or being considered for the nomination, and Nassau police public information would only say that the commissioner doesn't comment on political matters. The Nassau County GOP wouldn't comment.

Multiple sources, however, have told The Point for weeks that Ryder's name keeps resurfacing as a potential GOP contender against Gillen — if D'Esposito doesn't want to run. Even Democrat Kiana Bierria-Anderson, a community activist who is running a long-shot bid to swipe the party nomination from Gillen, told The Point that she "heard that Ryder will be the nominee."

Ryder would make sense as a tough-on-crime career cop with instant name recognition in all corners of the district, but Nassau police's cooperation with ICE could be as much of a stumbling block for him as it's becoming for Blakeman.

Bierria-Anderson, a former chief of staff for both Assemb. Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) and Legis. Debra Mulè (D-Freeport), filed a committee with the Federal Election Commission on Dec. 2. Bierria-Anderson, 32, refutes that hers is a long-shot bid to oust Gillen, an incumbent who has $1.5 million in her war chest. She told The Point that people in her community know not to take her lightly. "I'm not new to this game, I'm true to this game, and I know how to play it," she said.

Hach to primary for GOP nod against Suozzi

In CD3, Republican Michael LiPetri Jr. formally announced his candidacy to challenge Rep. Tom Suozzi Tuesday morning but already waiting for him is a primary challenge from Greg Hach, an attorney and Air Force veteran.

Hach stepped aside in '24 for LiPetri to avoid a primary, but not this time. He told The Point he will primary LiPetri to give Republican voters a choice not predetermined by insiders. Nassau's Bruce Blakeman and Joe Cairo, and even House Majority Whip Tom Emmer have lined up behind LiPetri, who is expected to get more party funding than he did last time around.

Hach said an AI simulation of registered voters a month and a half ago showed him trailing Suozzi by just 1.4%. He feels he can close that gap because of Suozzi's reported 450% increase in personal wealth, citing a November New York Post story.

"That's why I want him out. I want him to manage my money," said Hach, who fully supports President Donald Trump's agenda. He pledged "up to $1 million" of his own money to run against Suozzi and said he already plunked down $350,000 to fund his effort.

LiPetri lost to Suozzi in '24 by just 51.7% to 48.1%. However, Hach said his MAGA credentials are stronger, and that will play well with Republican voters in the primary. He said his own polling showed 88% of Republican voters in the district support Trump's agenda.

"... I also want to support President Trump's agenda," Hach said. "He's doing a fantastic job. The federal government should be working for people who pay the bills, people who work their ass off."

In a statement to The Point, Kristen Cianci, the Republican National Committee Northeast regional communications director, said Suozzi "has a fight ahead of him to retain this seat." Cianci avoided the thorny primary issue but added, "Tom Suozzi has lined his own pockets while making life less affordable for Long Islanders."

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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