New York’s deep-blue hue turned a bit paler in the 2022 midterm elections, as Rep.-elect Anthony D’Esposito can attest.
He’s among three new House Republicans who will take office when the 118th Congress opens on Jan. 3, joining Reps.-elect Nick LaLota and George Santos in reclaiming territory at New York’s far-eastern realm that was once strongly GOP but has become politically competitive in recent decades. Along with Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who on Nov. 8 cruised to a second two-year House term, the Long Island Republican House pickups are particularly striking since New York is ordinarily a strongly Democratic state.
In 2020, the state backed President Joe Biden with about 61% of its vote to 38% for former President Donald Trump, a Queens native and longtime Midtown Manhattan resident at Trump Tower before decamping to Florida. But the Empire State turned right in 2022, helping Republicans capture what’s likely to be a narrow 221-214, or 222-213 House majority.
D’Esposito’s win over Democratic rival Laura Gillen, by about 52% to 48%, played a big role in House Republicans’ success. His incoming southern Nassau County district two years ago would have backed Biden over Trump 56.8% to 42.2%.
D’Esposito, in Washington the week after the midterm elections to participate in freshmen orientation for new House members, said Democrats have lost touch with working-class voters who helped put him in office.
“I don’t think it’s a shift of the people on the island. I think it’s a shift in the Democratic Party. I think that the people on Long Island have been the people on Long Island for a long time,” said D’Esposito, a former investigator for the New York Police Department.
“I think that they feel that their party has shifted so far to the left that there’s nothing for them to relate to,” D’Esposito told the Washington Examiner.
The Republican gains on Long Island led the way for GOP pickups statewide. The New York House delegation will be 15 Democrats and 11 Republicans, a far cry from the intended 22-4 Democratic dominance under the original redistricting map, which a state court threw out over the summer. Additionally, Republicans made gains in statewide offices as Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul narrowly fended off a challenge from Rep. Lee Zeldin, defeating her Republican challenger by just 6 points.
One issue leading the blue-to-red shift is a rise in crime, D’Esposito said.
“[Crime] in New York has propelled people to come out and vote and be vulnerable,” D’Esposito said. “These are their lives. People travel into the city to go to school, and they have to be concerned about getting hit with a stray bullet or thrown in front of a subway car.”
D’Esposito, a member of the Hempstead, New York, town council since 2016, said the issue has become a major liability for the rival party.
“The Democrats in power have said there is no problem,” he added. “People feel like the Democrats in power have completely abandoned their base.”
As a former police officer himself, D’Esposito said this experience helped inform his campaign message and will continue to influence his policy decisions. Part of this includes working “with people from different backgrounds” to get things done — especially as neither party will have majority control over both chambers of Congress.
“I think that we have an opportunity to make real change. And I’m going to be a person that [does not govern based] on partisan politics,” D’Esposito said. “I understand that if I govern as a far-right conservative or if someone governs as a far-left Democrat, your time in office is probably going to be pretty short.”
Looking forward to the next two years, D’Esposito has his eyes set on a number of committee assignments, including positions on the Transportation and Homeland Security committees. Additionally, the New York Republican wants to expand efforts to address threats such as hate crimes, gun violence, fentanyl overdoses, and more.
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Ultimately, D’Esposito noted his goal is to work across the aisle to get things done with fellow lawmakers regardless of party affiliation.
“One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about [freshman] orientation is the fact that we’re doing it together. … It gives you the ability to meet people. You’re not walking up to someone and even knowing what party they’re from,” D’Esposito said. “I think it’s about working together. I’m going into this not looking to the letter after their name — I’m going into this to deliver for the communities that elected me to serve, and that’s it.”
