Laura Gillen

Laura Gillen is the Democratic incumbent representing New York's 4th Congressional District, covering the South Shore of Nassau County. She flipped the seat in 2024, defeating Republican incumbent Anthony D'Esposito with 51.1% of the vote, and won her 2026 Democratic primary on June 23 to secure the nomination for a second term. She is expected to face D'Esposito again in a rematch this November in one of the most competitive House races in the country.

A third-generation Long Islander born in Rockville Centre and raised in Baldwin, Gillen developed an early commitment to service, volunteering at South Nassau Communities Hospital and at Camp Anchor, a camp for children and adults with special needs. After earning a bachelor's degree in political science and government from Georgetown University in 1991, she volunteered with GMHC during the height of the AIDS epidemic and later traveled to Kolkata, India, to work with the Missionaries of Charity. She went on to earn a law degree from NYU School of Law in 2000, then worked as a litigator at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, where she took on pro bono cases for domestic violence victims, before joining the Nassau County firm Westerman Ball.

In 2017, Gillen became the first Democrat in over a century elected Hempstead Town Supervisor, where she managed a nearly $500 million budget, lowered taxes, and sued to recover damages over contamination in the public water supply. In Congress, she has secured more than $50 million in federal funding for Nassau County, worked to eliminate the SALT cap, opposed cuts to Medicaid, helped pass reforms cracking down on insurance middlemen that raise prescription costs, and led efforts in Congress to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants in her district.

Laura Gillen has focused her work in Congress on:

• Eliminating the SALT cap, which has led to double taxation of Long Islanders
• Standing up against historic Medicaid cuts
• Cracking down on insurance middlemen unfairly raising the cost of prescription drugs
• Restoring ACA premium tax credits to lower health insurance costs for working families
• Extending Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants living in Nassau County
• Protecting voting rights and pushing back against attempts to suppress ballot access
• Bringing federal investment back to Nassau County for public safety, clean water, and resources for families and students
• Working in a bipartisan, common-sense manner to lower costs and grow the local economy

Gillen has said she believes leaders in Congress must stand their ground, work across the aisle, and stay relentlessly focused on solving the challenges facing Long Island families, regardless of party.