4th Congressional District race is on between Hempstead official, U.S. Air Force veteran

Power & Politics: Vote 2026 - Races in New York's 4th and 3rd Congressional Districts

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Power & Politics: Jeanine Driscoll named by Nassau GOP in 4th Congressional District race; Kathryn Casey Quigley to run for Suffolk Democratic Committee chair

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News 12 Staff

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Every single time he had an opportunity to vote for you, he voted for Katie Hochle and Nancy Pelosi. That is Vice President JD Vance talking about Democratic Congressman Tom Swazi. The VP called Swazi the worst congressman in America while making a visit to Swazi's 3rd congressional district. It was called an official government visit to discuss the Trump administration's crackdown on crime. Fraud, but the vice president spent most of his time in Bethpage backing Republican congressional candidate Mike Le Petri. Swazi is now calling for a federal probe into Vice President Vance's visit to find out if taxpayer funds were used for the event. He says was more like a campaign rally. Swazi's also facing a primary from the left. Attorney and public defender Danielle Welch is challenging the Democratic incumbent. Swazi says he prides himself on bipartisanship and elevating political discourse. Welch says she's in the race to ensure Democrats have options and a voice, especially those who are unhappy with Swazi's record. I think the most important thing I've done is get people to try and work together across party lines in this very toxic environment that exists in Washington DC. Everything's about attack and counterattack, and we have to rise above that. When the far right is ushering in a period of fascism and authoritarianism and is abusing their power and violating our Constitution, I think it's really dangerous to try and compromise in the manner that Tom Suozzi does. Now, as for Mike Le Petri, he's in a Republican primary fight right now against Greg Hack. Each of the candidates claim to be the most pro-Trump Republican in the race. Hi guys, sorry to interrupt. I just want to say hello. Good morning, Mike Le Petri introducing myself. Two years after nearly upsetting incumbent Democratic Congressman Tom Swazzi, Republican Mike LePetri is back on the campaign trail. The former assemblyman from Farmingdale has the support of Nassau GOP leadership, and he's received the formal endorsement of President Trump. State Assemblyman Mike Le Petri. Mike, thank you. Thank you, Mike. Great job. People are excited for the next generation. Common sense Republican who is the Trump endorsed candidate, endorsed by Bruce Blakeman, endorsed by House leadership. But this spring Le Petri is facing a barrage of attacks from a political outsider, a conservative on TV, a liberal in the basement. That's the real Mike Le Petri. Attorney and US Air Force veteran Greg Hack of Oyster Bay is challenging Le Petrie in a GOP primary. I'm fully 100% America first. Hack is. Spending $1 million of his own money on the campaign, he's criticizing the county GOP machine and claims to be the true MAGA candidate in the race. I don't have the, uh, uh, the cell phone number of the president. The party boss does. So the party boss can get those and engineer those endorsements for him. I've done my oppo research on, on Mike Le Petri, and there's a lot out there that frankly shocks me that he's actually running. He's calling you liberal Le Petrie. He's saying that you're a former de Blasio staffer. Are you concerned Republicans in a primary are gonna hear that and say, wait a minute, I didn't know that about Le Petri. Well it's not true because I was, I was an attorney for the New York City Law Department defending the NYPD, FDNY and correctional officers, so he wants to lie about that. For me it was also as he tries to stay a liberal. I don't even know where he's getting that from. I'm being fought tooth and nail by the party. You, you might see smiles on the outside, but they're doing a lot of things behind the scenes that are trying to stymie my campaign, and I take a front to that. Staying in Nassau County now, Hempstead, receiver of taxes Jenine Driscoll is seeking the Republican nomination against US Air Force veteran Marvin Williams. It's a race for Congress only happening because another Republican decided not to run. Driscoll has only been in the race since April. She is the Nassau GOP's pick to challenge incumbent freshman Democratic Congresswoman Laura Gillen. She got the nod after former Congressman Anthony Disposito decided against running for his old seat. Her priority is affordability. I can't tell you how many residents I deal with one on one who will come to me. And, and I'm not trying to be dramatic. In tears, they will show up at my tax room. I can't pay this bill. These taxes are too high. What's happening with the schools? Her opponent is Minister and US Air Force veteran Marvin Williams from Garden City. I love my country and I love what I do and so I'm going to come out here and put my best foot forward to show the district that I'm the representative that needs to be in Washington for them. Both candidates say if elected, they will support President Trump. It may be the most wide open primary race on Long Island this year. The Democratic primary for Congress in the first district features a pair of political newcomers. I'm Chris Gallant. I'm running for Congress this year. My name's Lucas. Nice to meet you. Chris Gallant and Lucas Venturas have been introducing themselves to Suffolk County residents a lot lately. The two young Democrats are facing off in a primary for Congress in New York's 1st District, which spans the island from Huntington to Montauk. I decided to run because I got tired of what was kind of going on in our country and in our world. A lot of members of the working class, specifically in Suffolk County, they no longer trusted the Democratic Party, and we weren't seeing the results we needed to see. Decided to throw my hat into the ring. Gallant grew up in Smithtown and now lives in Amityville. I'm a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in the New York Army National Guard. I've been in the Army since I was about 16. He's also a former air traffic controller who left his job to run for the House. Gallant says he was driven to run by the affordability crisis and Washington corruption. We're looking at these congresspeople or even a lot of people in the executive branch that may be making money off the backs of everyday Americans. The 25-year-old Venturis, who is a law student from North. says corruption is his top issue. I think everything wrong in our society is downstream of corruption, specifically the way we fund our politics and our government and people who run for office. The candidates say this race is less about ideology and more about delivery. I don't really label myself. I want to give myself the room to have nuance and have positions that are, you know, across the spectrum and not pigeonhole myself. I've never label myself as a progressive or a moderate, and so by doing that, it gives me the opportunity to. The Democrats have a large tent, and I'm ready to help all of them. Suffolk Democratic Party chairman Rich Schaeffer has not endorsed a candidate in this race. Remember, he's facing a challenge for his leadership post within the party from Catherine Casey Quigley. Both of them joined us on Power and Politics recently to discuss their vision for the Democratic Party that will be decided sometime in the fall. Still to come here on Power and Politics, a state race that is often overlooked and has been won by the same person for decades now. We're going to hear from all three candidates running in the Democratic primary for state comptroller. You can also find more on all of these races right on our website, newstwelve.com. Just click on the Long Island primaries tab at the top of the page and stick with News 12 for continuing coverage of the 2026 primary election. We'll be covering the race in your community this Tuesday on air, online, and on our social media channels.

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Welcome back. Long Islanders who took advantage of early voting in Suffolk County were met with a new way to submit their ballot this election cycle. For the first time, voters in Suffolk are using a new touch screen machine for better security. The manufacturer says each one has built-in provisions to apply tamper evidence seals. In Nassau County, voters still use the traditional ballots as well. One of the contests we're also keeping an eye on is an election and position that is often overlooked, even though the winner will act as a watchdog over your money. We're talking about the three-way state comptroller primary. New York's longest serving statewide elected official, Democratic State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, is facing his first primary challenge since taking office in 2007. He spoke about his extensive experience and the trust that he says he's built with New Yorkers. I really think it is a time because of all the challenges that we're facing. Someone with uh the kind of experience that I have, certainly the values that I have, uh, I've always had a progressive vision in terms of how we move our state forward. I think is, is the right combination of skill set, uh, to get New York through a time of a very uncertain economy. Now 2 Democrats are running against him. First up is Raj Goyle. He's a former Kansas legislator and attorney who says New York Democrats are in need of someone who will take a more assertive and proactive approach to change. Democrats right now want fighters in office and not people who just go along and get along, and I think a 40 year Albany insider is not what the Democratic Party wants right now. We want somebody who will actually come in and fight hard against the affordability crisis, to lower utility rates, to build affordable housing, to invest in childcare, get ICE out of New York. These are the things the state comptroller can help accomplish that he is not doing right now. We also spoke to Drew Warshaw. He's helped build the World Trade Center after 9/11. He also led a nonprofit to take on the affordable housing crisis. He believes change is needed, but from someone outside of politics. What we need is someone with outside government experience who has run complex multifaceted organizations, who addressed affordable housing, who addressed renewable energy, who helped rebuild the World Trade Center when that project was in chaos. That's the type of experience that we need in a New York State Comptroller. We don't need more politicians. All right, so there you have it. A whole lot of primaries and your opportunity to vote, if you didn't vote early, of course, comes on Tuesday. That's all the time we have here. We'll see you again right here next week for another edition of News2's Power and Politics. Thanks for joining us. I'm Rich Barrabe.

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East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke Gonzalez and State Comptroller Tom Dinapoli join the show this week.

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