Who we're endorsing: For Peter King's open seat in Congress

By The Editorial BoardOctober 14, 2020

Newsday's Editorial Board is publishing its endorsement in the closely watched race for Long Island's only open House seat. The Second Congressional District winner will succeed Rep. Peter King, who has served 14 terms in Congress. The race has caught national attention as it embodies the changing nature of the suburbs.

For the first time, we are releasing the endorsements to your inbox before they are published in the print edition. The CD2 endorsement will appear in Thursday's edition of Newsday. The endorsement in the Fourth Congressional District will appear in print later this week.

Due to the pandemic, this year’s process looks a bit different since Long Island candidates did not come to our office for in-person meetings. Instead, the board interviewed candidates remotely using Zoom and the telephone, and we invited our followers on our social platforms to look in as we did.

Endorsement interviews conducted over Zoom.

The races

Congress, District 2 (southwestern Suffolk County and a small portion of southeastern Nassau County): Democrat Jackie Gordon vs. Republican Andrew Garbarino (open seat)

Congress, District 4 (central and southern Nassau County): Democrat Kathleen Rice (incumbent) vs. Republican Douglas Tuman

Our picks

Congress, District 2

In his 14 terms in the House, King was a service-oriented advocate for his constituents. That included the firefighters, police officers and nurses who work long hours and sometimes dangerous ones to keep society ticking, who don't shrink from duty during disaster, be it Sept. 11 or superstorm Sandy.

Many of them had moved to Long Island to carve out middle-class lives, the kinds of newcomers whose parents or grandparents might have come through Ellis Island seeking new opportunities, and now they were making good on that gamble here.

It is those same constituents who former military police officer Jackie Gordon is perfectly poised to represent — even though it is opponent Andrew Garbarino who is running a "law-and-order" campaign. Newsday endorses Gordon. Hear what she told us that earned her the endorsement.

Congress, District 4

First-time candidate Douglas Tuman's campaign centers on that he would be more engaged in the district than incumbent Kathleen Rice has been.

But many of his positions don't fit with Long Island's needs. He doesn't believe in mask mandates and thinks COVID-19 relief dollars should be linked to how a community handled the pandemic.

Rice acknowledges that she often works behind the scenes. It's time for her to emerge from behind the curtain and take a more public role in fighting for her constituents. Newsday endorses Rice, and here's why.