Possible third D'Esposito-Gillen matchup looms, even as he starts new D.C. job

WASHINGTON — He won their first fight for a key congressional seat from Nassau County. She won the second.

Will there be a rubber match?

Former GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito is not saying yet whether he will campaign in 2026 for his old U.S. House seat against freshman Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen. He also isn't saying that he won't.

But there are increasing signs that he plans to.

If it happens, a repeat battle with Gillen in the 4th Congressional District is certain to attract national headlines and vast sums of partisan donations because it will be a factor in determining whether Republicans or Democrats will control the House.

"Hope so," offered Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) in a social media posting about whether his former U.S. House colleague will make another bid for Congress next year.

Nassau Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo added Tuesday that D'Esposito is, in fact, under consideration as the party’s nominee, and brings "a proven track record" as a local official and a congressman. "I think he’d be a good candidate, but we haven’t made a decision yet."

D'Esposito did not respond to messages asking about his current thinking.

But Cairo cited Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s ascendance as the GOP's likely nominee for governor as a positive factor, since it could energize and elevate Nassau County GOP voter turnout in November.

D'Esposito's new job

The complication is that the U.S. Senate just last week confirmed D’Esposito to a new job as the Labor Department’s inspector general, a job that he expected to start doing six months ago after President Donald Trump nominated him in March. But because of delays in an array of Senate confirmations, he is barely settling in.

That means D'Esposito would have to leave his brand new job to run for Congress, explains Craig Holman, a lobbyist for Public Citizen, a nonpartisan group that emphasizes government accountability. Under the federal Hatch Act, federal employees, including inspectors general, are prohibited from running for partisan office.

Yet knowing that, D'Esposito declined in October to rule out a potential 2026 run for Congress to Newsday, and again when later pressed by a senator during a confirmation hearing. 

Two other Republicans have so far filed initial candidacy papers with the Federal Election Commission. They include Massapequa lawyer Dennis McGrath, who said in an interview on Tuesday he’s met with county party officials, as well as in Washington with representatives of Speaker Mike Johnson’s campaign arm and the White House.

But McGrath also said he would not try to force a GOP primary if D'Esposito does run, and is the party pick.

"I am being seen as an alternative to Mr. D’Esposito," McGrath said. County party chief Cairo did not go that far, when asked, but did acknowledge he’s talked to McGrath.

Brian Miller also has filed with the FEC as an East Meadow Republican seeking to explore a run for Gillen's seat. He could not be reached Wednesday.

But in an interview with Newsday in September, Miller said he works at an assisted living center, and has never run for office. "I don't know that much about her," he admitted of Gillen. He's named his committee, "It's Miller Time."

Another rematch?

Another showdown between D’Esposito-Gillen would be their third for the 4th District seat, which lies entirely within Nassau County. D’Esposito defeated Gillen when the seat opened up in 2022; but she then defeated him 51% to 49% in 2024.

She has since established a centrist voting record in her first year of this two-year Congress. But that has not altered the view of non-partisan political handicappers that Gillen is among the most endangered House Democratic incumbents in the country,

Gillen and other Democrats, for their part, are ready to hit D’Esposito on scandals and ethical issues that have plagued him prior to his defeat in 2024. Those alleged breaches include allegations reported by The New York Times in 2024 that he allegedly hired his fiancée’s daughter and another woman he was having an affair with. He has denied any wrongdoing.

"Long Islanders will reject him again," a Gillen campaign aide said Tuesday, accusing him of a history of misusing taxpayer dollars and "a disastrous" record "on every job he's had." And when the Senate voted last week to confirm D’Esposito as inspector general, Gillen put out a statement calling him "completely unqualified for this position."

Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs said D'Esposito won't be able to avoid discussion of his scandal-tinged past. "He carries with him the same baggage in a future election as he had in the past."

But Republicans are already hitting Gillen on several fronts, too. That includes swipes at her supposed lack of leadership and effectiveness during her first year in Congress.

LaLota explained on Tuesday why he has "hope" at seeing D’Esposito returned to his old House seat. "I need Anthony D’Esposito back in Congress so Long Island has a bloc of common sense conservative votes dedicated to SALT relief, a stronger border, and real public safety — issues Laura Gillen has failed to lead on."

Speaker Johnson’s House GOP political arm also has hit Gillen for alleged deception in promoting nearly $1 million in funding for the Bellerose Fire Department, noting that she actually voted against the overall bill that carried that money to her district.

Unmentioned is that lawmakers in both parties while in the minority often resort to such a practice — touting items they fought to steer to their districts in a bill written by the majority, even if opposing most of the bill.

But D’Esposito — though not a declared candidate versus Gillen — felt obliged to take a swipe at her, anyhow, in a Nov. 12 posting on X.

"Brags about getting the funding. Votes to block the funding. Laura Gillen, ladies and gentlemen," he jabbed.

So goes the ongoing sniping and online trolling between D'Esposito and Gillen, even as the bell has not even sounded yet for a potential round three between the two.