Is Trump's pick in CD3 primary really the most MAGA?

Daily Point

More-MAGA-than-thou is a '26 theme

President Donald Trump's hold on the national Republican Party means that this congressional primary season, GOP candidates see an effort to out-MAGA their rivals as their path to the ballot.

The best local example: The June 23 contest in Nassau County between Mike LiPetri, who's the favorite of Trump and Joe Cairo, his county chairman. Trump has posted online that LiPetri, a former Assembly member, "has dedicated his life to serving his community."

But Greg Hach, a lawyer, Air Force veteran and ideological conservative, dissents without slamming Trump. He is running to LiPetri's right in the 3rd Congressional District. Hach is determined to convince as many Republicans as possible that LiPetri is really a liberal who's squishy on gun rights and illegal immigration.

Whether the GOP faithful will buy this argument and act on it depends on who CD3 primary voters choose to believe. LiPetri has insisted that Hach's attacks are not valid and only comprise a desperate bid for attention.

Hach's public statements, posted memes and campaign mailings all reflect the tactic. One video has LiPetri in a televised statement saying "I wish we had it where federal laws permitted that [undocumented] child to then go through a process that can then provide them legal resident status ..."

The Hach campaign interprets this clip as LiPetri being "Amnesty Mike" and says his position clashed with Trump's immigration stance when both appeared on the same ballot two years ago. LiPetri is trying for the second time to unseat Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who won 52%-48% even as Trump won in Nassau County.

"Never forget that Liberal Mike LiPetri said he wanted amnesty for children of illegal migrants. That tells you everything you need to know," Hach posted last week.

Does it? Hach's team is also claiming his primary rival is weak on the Second Amendment. They base this on LiPetri at one point failing to denounce the notion of a ban on AR-15 rifles. He was quoted in brief as saying "the right to bear arms is never an absolute right," which of course is open to a more generous interpretation.

Looking past Hach, LiPetri's statements are geared toward recapturing the CD3 seat which as one Republican leader put it was "fried" in 2023 by what turned out to be the one-year incumbency of felonious fabulist George Santos.

There are mirroring battles on the Democratic side. Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is trying to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District which covers parts of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Lander suggests Goldman isn't progressive enough. But it's a purely intramural fight because no non-Democrat is expected to be in the mix in November.

In Kentucky, a Republican Trump policy critic, Rep. Thomas Massie, was defeated for this year's GOP nomination by Trump-endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein.

Wherever you look, bitter party ferment seems to be spreading this season across the spectrum.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Cost of living

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Reference Point

Checking the shelves, then and now

Sixty years after the United States Senate passed "truth-in-packaging" legislation, a new food labeling bill awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul's signature.

In the final weeks of the 2026 session, the New York State Legislature passed the Food Date Labeling Act that removes "sell-by date" language on food packaging in grocery stores and food distributors, permitting only more direct "use by" language and requiring manufacturers to better estimate food spoilage dates.

The bill was first introduced in 2025 and quickly garnered support in both chambers. That was not the case six decades ago for the federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act that took nearly five years of effort before it was enacted.

On June 11, 1966, Newsday's editorial page weighed in on regulating the packaging of consumer goods in an editorial and cartoon.

"The Senate has passed a truth-in-packaging bill that will insure the housewife a fair break whenever she shops for food, drugs and other packaged household supplies," the board explained. "Honest labelling is required."

President Lyndon B. Johnson advocated for the legislation spurred by thousands of shoppers sending letters to Congress amid a boom in product brands in stores and misleading advertising campaigns. "The Government must do its share to ensure the shopper against deception, to remedy confusion, and to eliminate questionable practices," Johnson said in a speech on consumer safeguards in 1966.

"The bill now goes to the House, where it should be approved," the editorial board agreed. "Protection for the consumer in these days of high-pressure advertising is more than ever essential."

Ultimately, the FPLA required products to clearly identify what the product was, the manufacturer's name and location, and to stop the confusion over jumbo, super and giant descriptions to prominently display the net weight of the product so it could be compared with competitors.

Six decades later, pending Gov. Hochul's approval, New York State could add a modern "truth in packaging" requirement, this time intended to stop food waste.

— Amanda Fiscina-Wells amanda.fiscina-wells@newsday.com

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