Rep. Nick LaLota is trying to hold off former CNN reporter John Avlon's stiff challenge in N.Y.'s 1st District
PATCHOGUE, N.Y. -- The race in the 1st Congressional District on Long Island between Rep. Nick LaLota and former CNN reporter John Avlon has been deemed a toss up. The district is filled with independent voters and could surely sway the balance of power in Washington.
The territory the district covers is enormous, from the farmers and fishermen of the East End to middle class suburbia stretching west to Huntington, a mix of working-class towns, rural farm communities, and wealthy enclaves.
The race is considered key because it is one of a handful observers viewed as helping determine control of the House of Representatives.
Where LaLota and Avlon stand on the issues
LaLota, the one-term incumbent Republican, is trying to make his case for reelection. His election in 2022 helped Republicans take control of the House, with a "red wave" washing over Long Island and the GOP winning all four seats even though more voters were registered as Democrats on the island. LaLota has touted his bipartisanship during his first term in office.
LaLota, 46, is tight with Donald Trump on the border, the economy and crime.
"Affordability, be it at the border and crime crises, or just delivering the bacon back home on Long Island, these are some of the things I am focused on in Congress," LaLota said.
LaLota, who went to St. Anthony's High School and then the U.S. Naval Academy and Hofstra Law, has been involved in Suffolk politics for many years. His wife is a schoolteacher.
Avlon, who voted in Sag Harbor on Tuesday morning, was born in New York City and is the son of Greek immigrants. The 51-year-old graduated Yale and Columbia, was a political commentator and strategist, and, incidentally, is married to a Republican, Margaret Hoover, the great-granddaughter of Herbert Hoover.
"Let's turn a new page. Let's actually build something better on the other side of this toxic tribalism," Avlon said. "We need to come together again. We need to turn the page on division and dysfunction, and I think the stakes of this election are about common ground over chaos."
Avlon's opposing messages on abortion, gun control, climate change and health care have voters taking notice.
"I believe that the decision to have an abortion should be between a woman, her doctor and her god," Avlon said.
"I do not think the federal government should interfere with the state abortion laws," LaLota said.
Lalota is painting Avlon as a carpetbagger because he also owns a home in Gramercy Park. However, Avlon has pointed to Lalota's home in Amityville, which is not part of the district.
Both LaLota and Avlon have said they would seek to raise the $10,000 cap on SALT, but otherwise disagreed on their approaches across a range of issues, including gun control and how to solve the housing crisis.