Wealthy Long Island, NY District Sees Rematch

By Dr. Julie Martinez Ortega

Town of Hempstead's old Town Hall

This week we’re taking a look at the NY-04, which is located in affluent southern Long Island in New York and includes the towns of Hempstead, Mineola, Oceanside, Woodmere, and Long Beach. Republican Anthony D’Esposito is the district’s current representative. This race is yet another rematch of 2022.

A safe seat for Democrats

NY-04 is considered a safe seat for Democrats, with a New Majority Index score of D+9. Cook Political Report ranks it as D+5. For the 2024 cycle, Cook categorized the district as a “Republican Toss Up.” This district is one of the 18 districts across the country that would have voted for Biden in 2020 had they existed in their current configuration (Biden’s 2020 margin in the district would have been 15%) but that also elected a Republican to the House of Representatives.

As of 2024, this district, alongside California's 22nd, is the most Democratic-leaning congressional district represented by a Republican. Despite its structural advantages for Democrats, it’s currently held by a freshman Republican.

This district is located just east of John F. Kennedy Airport. It’s 99% urban and a significant part of it is water-adjacent. When it comes to household income, NY-04 ranks among the top wealthiest districts nationally. NY-04 is the second-wealthiest congressional district in New York. Its median household income is $122,164 and the mean HHI is $152,531. Almost a quarter of the district’s households have a HHI over $200,000 or more. Just over 50% of the district’s residents are white; 22% are Latino; 16.3% are African American, and 7% are Asian American. 

In 2022, four-term House member and Democrat Kathleen Rice decided not to run for reelection in the NY-04, and Lauren Gillen, former supervisor of Hempstead, was the Democratic Party’s nominee for the open seat. Gillen faced D’Esposito, a former NYPD police officer who managed to win with 51.8% of the vote.

A total of 271,493 votes were cast in the 2022 election, with D’Esposito winning 140,622 and Gillen winning 130,871. D’Esposito’s margin of victory was 9,751 votes.

Incumbent former NYPD officer

D’Esposito is a first-term congress member and a relative newcomer to electoral politics. Prior to becoming an elected official, Esposito was an officer with NYPD until 2020. He had a record of excessive force complaints and reprimands from the department. He was appointed to the Hempstead city council in 2016 and later was elected to a full term, where he served until winning the 2022 election to represent NY-04. D’Esposito has endorsed Trump in 2024 for the presidency and has been an outspoken critic of Democrats for how they’ve handled the surge of migrants to the state.

Challenger former town supervisor

Gillen is considered the presumptive Democratic nominee despite having a few challengers in the primary. The DCCC is already listing her on its “Red to Blue” program, meaning it intends to provide a high level of support to her in the general election. A lifelong resident of NY-04, Gillen has spent her career in service to those in need, assisting people living with HIV/AIDS and providing pro bono domestic violence support. In 2017, Gillen became the first Democrat elected as Hempstead Town Supervisor in over a century, where she led revitalizing the town’s infrastructure and pursued legal action to protect the town’s public water supply.