Democrat Laura Gillen has officially won a hard-fought race for a Long Island House seat, ousting incumbent GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito.
The Associated Press called the 4th Congressional District race for Gillen Thursday, nearly two days after the former Hempstead town supervisor declared victory.
D’Esposito, a freshman congressman and former NYPD detective, had refused to concede election night, pointing to a narrow, 6,000-vote gap.
The win by Gillen will flip the Long Island seat, which covers Nassau County, to the Democrats — and is among three pickups by the Dems in the Empire State, even among a dramatic “red shift” by voters across New York.
Democrat Josh Riley also eked out a narrow win over Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro in the upstate 19th Congressional District, the Associated Press projected.
And Dem John Mannion unseated Rep. Brandon Williams in the upstate 22nd Congressional District.
The Democratic victories offset high-profile wins by incumbent Republicans Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota in battleground district, and are keeping the party’s hopes of regaining the House alive as votes in other tight congressional races continue to be counted days after the election.
