Cairo blasts GOP committee folks over low energy, turnout in CD3

Daily Point

Nassau GOP surprised by the strength of a rebel candidate in party primary

For Nassau County Republican chair Joe Cairo, the 3rd Congressional District can be kryptonite.

Cairo suffered the humiliation of having supported George Santos in 2022 only to have the indicted fraudster driven from Congress. Then, in a February 2024 special election to fill the vacant seat and redeem the reputation of the local party, Mazi Melesa Pilip, the Nassau legislator picked as the standard bearer, underperformed, losing to Democrat Tom Suozzi. The former Nassau County executive then held on against Republican Mike LiPetri in the general election despite Donald Trump winning the CD.

Cairo doesn’t want to be embarrassed again. Yet, he gave his imprimatur a second time to LiPetri, rebuffing Greg Hach, an attorney from Oyster Bay whose muscular effort so far has surprised the establishment.

The alarm bells, which were already ringing, are getting louder in the first few days of early voting: GOP turnout in CD3 is surprisingly low.

In the latest numbers available Tuesday, only 866 Nassau Republicans had voted in the CD3 primary, compared with 1,685 who came out for the CD4 GOP contest. In Queens 156 Republicans voted, while only 22 voted in the Suffolk part of the district.

Democrats in CD3 seem to be motivated, however, with 2,480 choosing between incumbent Suozzi and his challenger Danielle Welch in Nassau, 596 in Queens and 123 in Suffolk.

If enthusiasm is a barometer, Dems lead Republicans 3,199 to 1,044 in CD3 primary votes cast.

That lackluster performance is why Cairo, in a surprise appearance Monday, gave GOP committee folks a dressing down at a fundraiser for Assemb. John Mikulin in a Knights of Columbus hall in Farmingdale, the most southern and reddest part of CD3 — and LiPetri’s hometown.

The Nassau chair, who was not expected at the event, chastised committee members for not working hard enough. One attendee said Cairo never mentioned Hach’s name, instead calling him "that guy." Cairo told the group that the turnout was embarrassing for the party organization.

In an interview with The Point, Cairo acknowledged his remarks on Monday, comparing the situation to that of a coach giving a locker room talk at halftime. "You gotta get the troops motivated ... I raised my voice."

Cairo said he told those gathered that LiPetri was the GOP committee’s choice, that he was supported by the president and that the candidate "is out there working hard."

But signs of the strength of Hach’s rebellion were causing concern before voting. As The Point reported Monday, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only New York City Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, was asked to campaign with LiPetri on Sunday.

And more GOP troops might be coming this weekend.

The New York Young Republican Club is promoting a "MASSIVE Day of Action" on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to its website. The club is offering "free transportation" to the district but won’t disclose the location of the vans until 24 hours in advance and only by email.

Cairo said he knew nothing about the plans of the controversial NYC-based group but said the Nassau GOP also would be actively campaigning for LiPetri this weekend. Asked whether Hach could be a tougher challenge to Suozzi, Cairo said, "LiPetri did a very good job last time. He came close."

While acknowledging that LiPetri is increasing his cable TV spending to respond to Hach’s ads, Cairo said the party’s well-known "pull out the vote" effort on Election Day will close the deal.

A $130,000 ad buy supporting LiPetri was upped on Tuesday by another $75,000. Hach, who went up on TV first with negative ads, is matching LiPetri’s increased advertising spend and is moving away from negative attacks. On Tuesday, his campaign dropped a YouTube ad called "Dad" that features Hach’s three children and his wife. Part of Hach’s attack on LiPetri is that he doesn’t have roots in the district, couldn’t provide a home address, and at one point said he was living with his parents.

But the difference between the two GOP campaigns may be the digital ads. Hach, who is positioning himself as the true MAGA conservative, has already spent more than $100,000 directly targeting Trump-aligned primary voters. In the wrestling for the MAGA crown, Hach casts LiPetri as a political opportunist who once worked for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and is squishy on gun rights.

Hach’s campaign manager, Bill O’Reilly, said the low voter turnout was a positive sign. "Republicans in CD3 seem to be taking their time studying the candidates before voting. That’s exactly what we were hoping for," he said, adding that when the resumes are compared, Hach wins.

Meanwhile, Democrat Suozzi, who is being primaried from the left by Welch, a Queens public defender who claims on her Facebook page that the incumbent is too moderate, is aligned with Christian nationalists and participates in national prayer breakfasts.

One Democratic consultant monitoring the race said if LiPetri wins the nomination, it may have come at a high cost. "He moved too far to the right in the primary," the source said, arguing that if he wins, such a strategy would hurt him with independent women voters in the general election.

But Cairo disagreed that the GOP candidate would be perceived as too far to the right. "I don’t think so," he said, countering with the case that Democrats are too far left.

"Mamdami helps us," he said.

— Rita Ciolli rita.ciolli@newsday.com

Pencil Point

A toss-up

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Final Point

Can a Democrat out-Democrat another Democrat?

One East Hampton Town supervisor candidate features photos of himself with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Joe Biden. The other supervisor candidate is endorsed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Who's an East End Democrat supposed to vote for in a primary?

Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez is being challenged by East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen for the Democratic Party line in the June 23 primary election. In East Hampton, which has more than twice as many registered Democrats as registered Republicans, the primary for the Democratic line will almost assuredly determine who wins the November general election.

That logic is especially true this year, since Republicans don't have a candidate in the November election. The only two other possible options for a real fall election are if someone mounts a write-in campaign or if Burke-Gonzalez loses the Democratic primary, which would mean she appears on the November ballot only on the Working Families Party line.

"East Hampton has sort of become a one-party town over the last couple of years," a Suffolk Democratic Party insider told The Point.

Primaries are quiet victories because few people vote. But East Hampton's other big primary race — for control of the party's committee positions — has led to big voter turnout in early voting numbers. In the first two days of early voting, 318 people voted in East Hampton, the most of any Suffolk town.

Larsen is backing a revolt against what he called one-party rule by the members of the town's Democratic Party's committee by supporting candidates against East Hampton Town Democratic Party chair Anna Skrenta's faithful in all 19 election districts.

Suffolk County Democratic Party chair Rich Schaffer backs Burke-Gonzalez. He previously blasted Larsen for accepting campaign contributions over legal limits and the county party issued a cease-and-desist letter to Larsen's campaign for making a committee name too similar to the one used by Skrenta's committee. Larsen subsequently gave back some campaign contributions and changed his committee's name.

That's led to a total of 75 candidates running for 38 committee positions (there are two committee posts in each election district). One candidate — Francis Bock — is cross-endorsed by Larsen and the town committee. Larsen's group is even challenging Skrenta for her committee post in ED12. And Larsen's wife, Lisa, is running for ED5 against Burke-Gonzalez's husband, Joe.

In a previous statement to The Point, Larsen said primaries should be welcomed to strengthen the party. "Democratic primaries exist for one reason: to give Democrats a choice, not to shield incumbents, not to silence challengers, and not to discourage participation when the outcome feels inconvenient," he said.

Larsen's campaign has increased participation in East Hampton Democratic Party politics. The question is: Do East Hampton Democrats want to stay the course heading into the national midterms, or go along with Larsen's campaign against the grain of the Democratic Party?

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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