Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Outgoing New York Rep. Kathleen Rice says she warned Democratic leaders that the party would 'lose' Long Island in the midterms

Outgoing New York Rep. Kathleen Rice says she warned Democratic leaders that the party would 'lose' Long Island in the midterms

Congresswoman Rice said Democrats faltered in local races on Long Island in 2021 because voters "wanted to send a message to Washington."
For much of the 20th Century, Long Island was a well-known Republican stronghold, serving as a counterbalance to the strongly Democratic politics of New York City.

From the 1990s through much of the past decade, Democrats made major gains in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, winning congressional districts and local offices that for years had favored Republican politicians.

But in recent years, Republicans have clawed back some of their strength, winning the county executive and district attorney races in Nassau in November 2021, while also winning the district attorney race in Suffolk that year. While former President Donald Trump lost New York State resoundingly in both 2016 and 2020, he won Suffolk each time.

In the November midterms, despite Democratic overperformance in suburbs across the country, Republicans had a major year in New York State, winning every congressional district anchored on Long Island — despite Democrats holding a party registration edge in both Nassau and Suffolk and controlling districts in the Hudson Valley and Upstate.

And outgoing four-term Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice, who will be succeeded by GOP Rep.-elect Anthony D'Esposito next week, said in a recent Politico interview that she sounded the alarm to party leaders regarding her intuition about the state of play on Long Island ahead of the midterms.

Rice, a moderate who represents the Long Island-based 4th Congressional District and previously served as the Nassau County district attorney for nearly a decade, told the news outlet that her warnings about the dire prospects of Democrats in the suburbs of New York City went unheeded.

"This is a blue, blue state, and it's the reason why we lost the majority," Rice said. "We lost four House seats. I said [to party leaders], 'You guys, don't understand, we're gonna lose Long Island. And we're gonna lose some other seats, further up.' They said, 'No, no, no, your seat was a Biden +13.'"
"When we had elections in November of 2021, every single Democrat on Long Island lost. Not because they weren't popular and not because people didn't like them. But they wanted to send a message to Washington," she added.

While President Joe Biden easily won Rice's district in 2020, his standing among many Independents has taken a hit since then, despite the party holding its own in the midterms. Faced with the prospect of electing a swath of GOP candidates who rejected bipartisanship and continued to deny Biden's 2020 win, voters backed Democratic candidates in such dramatic fashion that the GOP severely underperformed nationally.

In November, the GOP gubernatorial nominee was Lee Zeldin, a retiring Long Island congressman who lost a competitive race against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. Zeldin whittled down the normally-massive Democratic edge statewide as his coattails helped elect D'Esposito, along with GOP Reps.-elect Nick LaLota and George Santos, to Long Island-anchored districts. (Santos in recent days has come under fire for a growing list of false claims about his background after a New York Times investigation pointed out inconsistencies in his work history and finances.)

In a state that voted for Biden by a whopping 23 points (61%-38%) in 2020, GOP victories in New York State — fueled by a focus on economic and public safety issues — delivered the party a razor-thin US House majority.

Democrats, who still maintain control of the Governor's Mansion and the state legislature, along with holding both US Senate seats, remain the dominating force in state politics.

However, the midterms proved that while the Republican brand on Long Island may have faltered in the 1990s and 2000s, that is certainly not the case today.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×