Primaries set up Suozzi-LiPetri rematch for House seat

WASHINGTON  — Former GOP Assemb. Mike LiPetri on Tuesday won the right to a rematch against Rep. Tom Suozzi after failing to defeat the Long Island Democrat two years ago.

The Associated Press projected both men as victors of their parties’ primaries in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens counties.

"Start spreading the news — LiPetri vs. Suozzi Round Two starts now!" LiPetri said in a statement after his victory. Suozzi said in his own statement he was "grateful" for his primary victory  — and made no mention of LiPetri.

The AP also projected Republican Jeanine Driscoll, the Hempstead receiver of taxes, to be the winner her party’s primary for the right to challenge Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) in the 4th District, in Nassau County.

And the AP projected Democrat Chris Gallant, of Amityville Harbor, an Army veteran, Black Hawk pilot and former air traffic controller, the Democratic primary winner to take on Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) in the 1st District, in Suffolk County.

Nationally, Republicans are trying to hold onto their majority in the 435-seat House chamber. But a net swing of just three or four seats this fall could hand Democrats the majority in January.

The biggest single grouping of potentially competitive seats in New York State can be found on Long Island — and Tuesday’s primary results set the stage for those November races.

"I think Long Island will not be an insignificant part of the House battleground," said Erin Covey, a House-elections expert with nonpartisan handicapper The Cook Political Report.

LiPetri’s race against lawyer Gregory Hach, of Oyster Bay, drew the most attention of the Long Island primary races, largely because of LiPetri's endorsement by President Donald Trump in February, followed by Vice President JD Vance last week. LiPetri also had the backing of the Nassau County GOP.

Suozzi, the only Long Island House incumbent who faced a primary challenge, defeated Danielle Welch, a public defender from Bayside, Queens.

That sets up a replay of the 2024 race for the seat, when Suozzi defeated LiPetri in the general election by fewer than 4 percentage points. Trump was at the top of the ballot that year, though won’t be this November. But Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the GOP nominee for governor, will be on the ballot as a potential draw for district Republicans.

While LiPetri battled with Hach in their primary over who was the most conservative, Suozzi underscored during his that he was a centrist Democrat — ahead of likely Republican efforts to tie him to democratic socialists such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

State GOP chairman Ed Cox reminded in a statement Tuesday night that LiPetri nearly unseated Suozzi two years ago, and, "This November, he'll finish the job, send Tom Suozzi packing, and be a reliable voice for our conservative values in Washington."

Andrew Grossman, of Battleground New York, a coalition of groups that backs New York Democratic congressional candidates. said: "Long Island already knows Mike LiPetri, and in 2024 they already turned him down. ... The only person on Long Island who thinks this rematch ends differently is Mike LiPetri himself."

Both Driscoll and her primary foe, Republican Marvin Williams, an Air Force veteran and minister from Garden City, had claimed to be the most MAGA candidate. Driscoll will wear that claim in her bid to unseat Gillen, who like Suozzi, has positioned herself as a more centrist Democrat.

GOP maneuver

Gallant defeated law school student Lukas Ventouras to challenge LaLota in the fall.

But eyebrows were raised in that race when a state GOP-affiliated committee sent out pro-Trump postcard flyers attacking Ventouras as an out-of-touch, left-wing liberal.

Ventouras said it showed that he's the one LaLota wanted to avoid facing in November. But Gallant and his backers responded by calling it a not-too-subtle attempt at goading Democrats into voting for Ventouras because, they say, Gallant was the one LaLota did not want to face.

Covey, the House elections expert, said that LaLota’s district, in fact, could be competitive, this fall if the political environment generally moves toward Democrats.

She added, "I think whether or not Democrats seriously play in NY-01 depends in part on the primary results — Gallant certainly has the better profile to win over soft Republicans and independents."

If a Democrat can do well this November in LaLota’s district, she said, that would also favor Democrats Suozzi and Gillen.

There was no primary in Long Island’s 2nd District, which includes parts of Suffolk and Nassau counties. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), will face former Democratic Suffolk County Executive Patrick Halpin in November.