Suffolk's GOP chair leaves day job

Daily Point

Garcia steps down from BOE, not GOP leadership

One of the most powerful Republican leaders in New York State is stepping down, but only from his day job.

Suffolk County Republican Party chair Jesse Garcia retired as Hispanic outreach coordinator of the county's Board of Elections, several sources confirmed to The Point.

Garcia departed about two weeks ago with little fanfare. One source said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, a Republican, visited Garcia at BOE headquarters in Yaphank a few weeks ago with other party leaders but there was no retirement party, just a quiet acknowledgment.

In response to questions from The Point, one Suffolk political source simply texted: "I wish Jesse a happy retirement from the Suffolk County workforce." Another source speculated that Garcia retired because of the math. "I believe he hit whatever magical threshold of years makes it work for one to retire," the source said. A third source told The Point that Garcia's nameplate was removed from his door at the Board of Elections and replaced with "PRIVATE."

Garcia was elected chair of the county GOP in 2019 and also holds the leadership position of the Brookhaven Town GOP.

Stepping down from the BOE, another source said, gives Garcia, 61, more time to focus on supporting his slate of candidates in the upcoming November elections. Then there is the consideration that Garcia could be positioning himself for a more prominent role in the state Republican Party.

Garcia has worked since 2003 at the elections board. His salary in 2025 was $155,584, according to Suffolk County payroll data obtained by Newsday in a FOIL request.

The number of registered Republicans in Suffolk has risen nearly 9% since Garcia took the helm, from 306,799 active voters as of Nov. 1, 2019, to 338,534 active Republican voters as of Feb. 20, 2026, according to state Board of Elections data.

Two sources told The Point that Republicans aren't close to naming Garcia's replacement at the BOE.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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Final Point

Pray for D'Esposito's anti-fraud efforts

Former Rep. Anthony D'Esposito is not running for his old congressional seat, but he's got a higher calling — rooting out fraud as the inspector general of the federal Department of Labor.

And that mission is now backed by the power of prayer.

After much insider speculation, D'Esposito, also a former Hempstead Town councilman, declined a bid to reclaim his 4th Congressional District seat. He has been hard at work as part of Vice President JD Vance's fraud elimination task force, created by President Donald Trump by executive order in March. There have been blizzards of news releases and appearances touting the department's efforts to uncover unemployment benefits fraud. The Labor Department inspector general's website highlights more than $75 billion in fraud, waste and inefficiency identified in its investigations.

Vance's — and D'Esposito's — mission got a divine boost Tuesday in an announcement from the Presidential Prayer Team's website asking for people to pray "For Inspector General D'Esposito as he oversees reviews of state and federal unemployment benefit programs for fraudulent activity." The post also asks for prayers for acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling in his "efforts to prevent fraud." Sonderling was named to the post last month after Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned on April 20 amid scandal speculation.

The call for prayer, though, isn't a political statement. Established in 2001, the Presidential Prayer Team is a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability "dedicated to a focused mission of encouraging, inspiring and praying for our president and national and military leaders. ... We believe that our adversary is the Devil and his forces, and not people and their plans." The charity prides itself on being "... the source thousands of Americans have turned to for encouragement and inspiration to pray for America's leaders."

Last May, after former President Joe Biden announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the Presidential Prayer Team posted on its site a prayer for Biden and the medical professionals caring for him. The message also included a statement from Trump: "Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery."

Now that he's got aid from the Presidential Prayer Team, D'Esposito's holy war against fraud is truly on the righteous path.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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