Although a red wave didn’t necessarily sweep the nation as Republicans had hoped, it did turn all four seats in the U.S. House red on Long Island, New York during the midterm elections.
Before Tuesday night’s elections, the seats were evenly split between parties. However, Long Islanders went to sleep and woke up amidst a red wave in all four congressional districts serving Suffolk and Nassau counties.
The night was historic for the districts.
It was the first time since 1997 a Republican flipped a seat held by Democrats, in which Republican Anthony D’Esposito defeated Democrat Laura Gillen.
“It could be a piece of history," D'Esposito said, adding “these seats on Long Island could be the ones that turn the House from Democrat to Republican.”
Experts suggest that the city’s ongoing inflation and crime problem drove the district to turn fully red, adding that residents were tired of voting Democrat and not seeing results.
Republican George Santos beat Democrat Robert Zimmerman in Long Island’s third Congressional District saying that the first order of business is to address the high cost of necessity items.
“We like our way of life,” Santos said, adding “we don't like the rampant crime, we don't like the cost of living. We need to start tackling gas — if we attack energy it'll help inflation.”
New York has been hit hard by crime and high prices, causing a shift in party leaders. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) beat Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) by merely just six points in the race for the governor’s seat.
The last time all four Congressional seats were held by Republicans in Long Island was back in the mid- 1990s.