Long Island's House Democratic primaries look like a bust

Daily Point

Left out: Many early, progressive challengers are gone

Democratic Party primary challengers for House seats on Long Island are dropping faster than spring temperatures.

Over the weekend, at least two congressional challengers posted withdrawal statements on social media.

That's not to mention challenges to petitions happening behind the scenes that could knock more candidates off the ballot.

It all makes for a messy primary season, but insiders say the goal is to clear the field of progressives who might distract voters in the general election. Democrats say their best chances in November are with candidates who can appeal to unaffiliated voters and possibly some Republicans rather than candidates politically aligned with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

In the 2nd Congressional District, where Republican Andrew Garbarino is the incumbent, Garrett Petersen announced in a Facebook post Sunday that he was ending his campaign but not his involvement in Suffolk Democratic politics. Petersen, the deputy chair of the Islip Town Democratic Committee, said there was "no viable path forward to victory at this time" and he would instead work to get Democrats elected. "My commitment to seeing MAGA and fascism defeated remains undimmed," Petersen wrote.

Petersen's petitions were being challenged by both Patrick Halpin and another challenger, Jessica Murphy, a New York City real estate agent from Amityville. Halpin is also challenging Murphy's petitions. The Halpin-Murphy challenge is scheduled for a Tuesday court date.

In CD1, Democrat Jonathan Jacobs' petitions are being challenged because, as one source told The Point, Jacobs' campaign gathered petitions from large outdoor events and may not have asked signees if they were registered Democrats within the district. If Jacobs is removed or steps away, that would leave Christopher Gallant and Lukas Ventouras in the party primary to get the nod to take on Republican Nick LaLota. Ventouras' updated campaign finance filings show he raised $76,116.03 and has $36,361.97 cash on hand.

In CD4, where the GOP machine took a few twists and turns before going with Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes Jeanine Driscoll, former Assemb. Taylor Darling announced Sunday she was ending her fight against Laura Gillen. Darling raised just $24,000 since announcing her candidacy in February.

"Unfortunately, the technicalities of the current system make it challenging for community-focused campaigns to fully participate in the Democratic process," she wrote. "While I respect the rules, it is clear that these barriers need to be addressed if we want a system where all voices, especially those from our communities, are heard and valued."

Another Gillen challenger, Kiana Bierria-Anderson, told The Point her petitions were being objected to because "... the Democratic establishment is doing what they always do best, trying to fearmonger grassroots candidates."

Bierria-Anderson said she was confident her more than 1,600 petitions would qualify her when just 1,250 are needed for a congressional seat. She said she "was not surprised, more so disappointed" that her own party would try to knock her and her progressive ideas off the ballot. "The establishment is not willing to compromise with the more left side of their base," she said. "Instead of trying to work with us, they are trying to ostracize us."

The Nassau County Board of Elections also lists Frank Lozada seeking the Democratic line in CD4 but he doesn't appear on the Federal Election Commission campaign finance site. Lozada's Instagram page says he is running on "... impeaching Donald Trump for tyranny, treason, and obstruction of justice ..."  Tom Garry, vice chair of the Nassau County Democratic Committee, predicts Lozada will not be on the ballot, having failed to meet the signature threshold. However, Lozada has filed a legal challenge to the Democratic objection.

The "impeach Trump, tax the rich" agenda supported by Citizens' Impeachment, a group that backed Murphy, CD3 Democratic primary challenger Danielle Welch and Lozada, is just the kind of rhetoric some Democrats say could ruin their chances by turning away unaffiliated voters wary of the Dems but wanting to cast a vote against President Donald Trump.

Welch also presents a challenge for centrist Dems. Welch, running a primary against incumbent Tom Suozzi, touts an endorsement from the New York Progressive Action Network, a group with roots in Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign that backs socialist causes.

On her website, Welch points to Suozzi's support for ICE funding and his 2025 vote against impeaching Trump. "He is part of the problem, not a problem solver," Welch wrote, a dig at Suozzi's co-chairmanship of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus. Updated FEC filings show Welch raised $27,289.76 and has $17,514.81 cash on hand.

Progressive issues play well with the left of the Democratic Party but not so much with independent voters Democrats need to win in November.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

Pencil Point

End of the race

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Final Point

Suffolk Dems finally name a comptroller candidate

Trying to figure out who will be the Democratic Party's nominee for Suffolk County comptroller is like being on Disney's Mad Tea Party ride.

An April 8 candidate list from the county's Board of Elections has Victoria Marotta of Deer Park as the party's pick for the county comptroller contest in November. But last week, county Dems issued a news release touting Janina Martinez as their candidate for that race. And then Monday afternoon, Martinez was no longer the candidate, replaced by Jon Estreich, who had been the name submitted to challenge Republican State Sen. Mario Mattera.

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Suffolk Democrats replaced Martinez, the Babylon Town deputy clerk, as their candidate for county comptroller on the last day to make such a switch. Estreich, the new Democratic Party candidate, is a Dix Hills lawyer and Army veteran.

Just last week, Martinez, in a release announcing her candidacy, said she was running for comptroller to "... bring a no-nonsense approach on making every taxpayer dollar work harder for Suffolk County's future."

Estreich is a former Suffolk assistant district attorney and former attorney for the Department of Homeland Security. He will face Republican Dan Losquadro, the current Brookhaven Town superintendent of highways, in November. GOP incumbent John Kennedy was term-limited from running again.

A Democratic Party source told The Point in a text message that the party is "presently interviewing potential SD2 candidates." The deadline for that nomination is Thursday, extended because of Estreich's sudden withdrawal to run for comptroller, the source said. Whomever the Dems pick will have an uphill battle against Mattera, a union leader.

And there's another Democratic State Senate candidate who withdrew to avoid a primary.

Farzeen Bham pulled out of the Democratic primary for SD1 after questions about some signatures on his petitions. Bham, in a statement to The Point, said his decision was solely to unite Democrats behind an electable candidate. "I have always wanted this race to be above board and focused on policy, but the current rhetoric surrounding a primary battle would have created negativity that could hurt either my chances or Chris's chances of winning in November," Bham said.

Bham's announcement clears the field for E. Christopher Murray to run against Republican incumbent Anthony Palumbo. Murray's campaign previously told The Point that it filed general objections to Bham's petitions because of "irregularities."

Murray ran unsuccessfully for the 7th Senate District back in 2002, with 37% of the vote.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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