The Republican plan to win Long Island runs through Hochul and Mamdani
republicans are strategizing to weaken the Democratic gains by linking two Long Island Democrats, Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen, to prominent progressive figures and policies associated with Governor Kathy Hochul and socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani. A memo from the National republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) describes Hochul and Mamdani as “toxic on long Island” and aims to exploit their associations to unseat Suozzi and Gillen in upcoming elections. Despite both Democrats endorsing Hochul’s reelection and opposing socialist elements, they have connections to progressive groups like the Working Families Party and Indivisible, which supported mamdani. The NRCC emphasizes these ties to portray the Democrats as aligned with socialism and to highlight issues such as taxes and policies affecting New Yorkers’ finances. Suozzi and Gillen have distanced themselves from socialism, with Suozzi signing a pledge against it, though both have maintained some connections with progressive groups. The Republican campaign aims to capitalize on recent political swings in their districts and Hochul’s “pied-à-terre tax” to sway voters. While polls favor both Democrats,their seats are considered competitive,with recent election results showing meaningful shifts in voter support. The NRCC plans to focus on their perceived loyalties and policy impacts to influence November’s outcomes.
EXCLUSIVE — Republicans, hoping to turn the tide of Democrats’ progressive momentum against them, plan to tie two centrist Long Island Democrats to the records of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
A new memo shared exclusively with the Washington Examiner from the National Republican Congressional Committee lays out House Republicans’ strategy to unseat Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Laura Gillen (D-NY), describing Hochul and Mamdani as “toxic on Long Island.”
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Both Suozzi and Gillen endorsed Hochul’s reelection bid earlier this year. But Hochul lost their New York House districts in 2022 — with the governor losing Suozzi’s by 8.5 percentage points and Gillen’s by 5.8.
The NRCC is linking the pair to Mamdani through their shared connections to the Working Families Party, which backed Mamdani during his mayoral campaign last year. Suozzi was endorsed by the group in 2018 and ran on the party’s ballot line in 2020. Gillen, meanwhile, ran on their ballot line in 2017 and 2019.
“Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen’s allegiances are clear: They answer to Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani before Long Islanders, and the NRCC plans to exploit it this fall,” the memo reads.
The NRCC strategy underscores a belief that a surge of socialist wins in the Democratic Party can be used against more vulnerable Democratic incumbents ahead of the general election.
Suozzi has been vocal about his political disagreements with Mamdani and recently launched the “Promise to America” pledge, signed by 14 other centrist House Democrats, including Gillen, that declares, “We are capitalist, not socialist.”
But while Suozzi and Gillen have rejected the socialist movement within their party, the two New York Democrats have ties to another progressive group that also supported Mamdani, known as Indivisible, having attended a rally hosted by the organization in 2025.
“Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen spent years cultivating alliances with Kathy Hochul and the political machine behind socialist Zohran Mamdani,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said in a statement. “Republicans will spend every day until Election Day making sure Long Island voters know exactly where their loyalties lie.”
The NRCC also plans to highlight the impact of Democratic policies on New Yorkers’ pocketbooks. The Republican campaign arm hits Suozzi and Gillen for their opposition to Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes an increase in the state and local tax cap that is championed by New York Republicans.
Republicans are hoping Hochul’s “pied-à-terre tax,” which charges an annual surcharge tax on secondary residences valued at $5 million or more and is backed by Mamdani, will also be a drag on New York Democrats in November with Hochul’s name on top of the ballot.
Prognosticators favor both Suozzi and Gillen in the November elections, but Suozzi’s seat in particular has swung between both parties in recent cycles. In 2020, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden won the seat by 11 points. Four years later, Republican nominee Donald Trump took the district by 4 points.
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Gillen’s seat narrowly went to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in 2024, with the then-vice president netting 50% compared to Trump’s 48%. Harris’s win in the district was much narrower, however, than that of Biden, who won in 2020 by 14 points.
Suozzi is facing former state Assemblyman Mike LiPetri, while Gillen is facing off against Jeanine Driscoll, a local official, in November.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Suozzi and Gillen for comment.
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