Political strategist breaks down this year's intense NY primaries

NY primary election sees established Democrat up against lawyer, public defender

Chris Gallant, Lukas Ventouras to face off in Democratic primary for Congress

4th Congressional District race is on between Hempstead official, U.S. Air Force veteran

Mike LiPetri and Greg Hach clash in GOP primary as attacks escalate in LI congressional race

Key House races, comptroller contest, and control of East Hampton on the line in June primaries 

longisland

News 12 Staff

LIPRIMARYGUEST262326_2026-06-23-06-27-18

It is primary day and two young Democrats are running to try and challenge Congressman Nick Lalota in the 1st district. And joining us now live from our newsroom is one of those candidates, Lucas Ventura. Lucas, thanks for joining us this morning. Thanks for coming here to our Beth Page studio. So we want to give the candidates an opportunity to make their last-minute pitch to voters here. What do you want them to know, specifically Democrats who may not be familiar with you or your opponents since you're both newcomers. Listen, thank you for having me first and foremost. Um, you know what I would want to impress upon voters in the 11th hour of this election is that, you know, if they're tired of the same old, same old in the politics of the Democratic Party, if they wanna see a new vision for pushing us forward, for truly tackling the issues of our day with ingenuity and, and ideas and, and vigor and passion, then I am the person, uh, for you, um, you know, I'm, I'm completely grassroots funded. I don't take money from anyone other than the constituency and. You know, I think that makes me the right leader for us to go into a new generation for the Democratic Party. When you speak about a new generation. You're a young guy, 25 years old, a law student, uh, you know, lifelong Long Islander from Northport. Uh, what about the experience factor? What would be your message to Democrats who are saying, listen, we need somebody who really is going to be able to take on Nick Laoda if we're going to win back the seat? Right? You know, I think that's a perfectly fair question to pose, you know, but I do have experience. I've worked in civil rights law. I've worked in journalism. I've done. Organizing work I've worked the congressional office on campaigns um so though I might be a young person, I do think I have the requisite experience and you know what I might uh lack in traditional credentials I more than make up for in my passion and my desire to serve, and I think that, uh, the integrity and the desire to serve for your constituency is the first and foremost concern. Lucas, lastly, if you had to boil down your campaign to one issue and and promise voters I can deliver on this, what would that issue be? I think I can most definitely deliver on my desire to uh try and tackle corruption um you know I've always said that all the issues that we face in this country are are downstream of our corruption problem and you know I definitely think that I can work definitely even in a bipartisan matter with uh with the Republicans in Congress on on fixing corruption so that we can truly tackle the issues of our day. Lucas Ventura is one of the Democratic candidates in the first congressional district on your primary ballot today. Lucas, thanks for the time. Thank you.

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LIPRIMARYGUEST362326_2026-06-23-06-27-14

It is primary day in one of the races we're watching. East Hampton town supervisor. Joining us now is Jerry Larson, the current East Hampton village mayor, who's running against the incumbent for supervisor. Jerry, thanks for joining us this morning. Um, this is a campaign that has a lot of attention across the island, even though it is specific to East Hampton. Tell us about how you're feeling here going into election day. I, I'm feeling really, really, uh, really good about this election. We've run a very good campaign. We've taken on all of the issues which there are many, many issues here facing our residents in East Hampton. There's been corruption in our building department. There's now a, a scandal involving water, drinking water, who knew what, when. So, there's so many problems facing our, um, our residents that it's time for a change. And not only am I running for supervisor, but we have 38 challengers, uh, running in our committee seats. And if people don't know what the committee seats, they're, they're super important because the committee seats really, uh, Really play a huge role in selecting who will be our, in our town politics. And those seats are really important and they shouldn't be taken lightly. These are seats that should be filled by people who live here year-round, that, that have raised their families here and that have, have jobs and depend on our community for their living. And I say that because there's no urgency to fix our building department. We've had a building department that has 700 building permits, uh, in backlog, and there's no urgency from this current administration to fix that, even though the building and the real estate industries out here on the East End are huge for people, and they, they depend on this for their livelihood and their living, and, and it's not getting fixed, and that is gonna be. Let, let me ask you real quick because we're running out of time. You mentioned there are races up and down the ballot. You have spearheaded that. What would a win today mean for you and your slate of candidates going up against the establishment Democrats in the party? A win would show that the residents have had enough of the current administration, and a win would really set us up for a new direction, a better direction, like we have in the village under my tenure as mayor. And the residents will have a, um, you know, a better future for East Hampton. All right, Jerry Larson, thanks so much for the time. We appreciate it. Thank you very much, Doug. Have a great day and we'll, hopefully, we'll see you tonight. All right, and we asked the other.

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LIPRIMARYGUEST462326

It is primary day and one of the races we're watching is for East Hampton Town Supervisor. The incumbent in the race, supervisor Kathy Burke Gonzalez, didn't return our request to join us here on the morning show, but here's part of an interview I did with her earlier this spring. Do you feel an extra burden or added pressure considering the fact that it seems there's more on the line than just even your race, the supervisor's race here when it comes to the party and the town? Sure, well, I think the folks that know me that have voted for me, I mean back in my the November 25 election, over 5000 East Hampton residents voted for me in that in that. Race, um, so I think people know where I come from. I lead from the heart that it's, oh, I've always looked at what's best for our community and, uh, give great care for the community. Uh, we, you know, our administration has supported our town staff because without town staff we can't provide the, the, the services and programs that. Uh, the town offers and, uh, I'm confident that folks, um, folks know me, they know the, the work that we've done, we've gotten a lot accomplished in the last almost 2.5 years, and, you know, I'm grateful for that.

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LILIpetrirecut623_2026-06-23-11-08-33

It is primary day, and in the 3rd congressional district, two Republicans are fighting to challenge Democrat Tom Swazzi. Joining us now is the candidate who already faced Swazi for this seat, former state assemblyman Mike Le Petri. Mike, good morning to you. Thanks for joining us. Yesterday, President Trump doubled down on his endorsement of you with a public post supporting your campaign. What does that mean for you now in this Republican primary? Well, the choice is clear. We're giving people the opportunity to vote for Republican Mike LePetri for United States Congress, endorsed by President Trump, endorsed by Bruce Blakeman. I'm an attorney who defended the NYPD, FDNY, and correctional officers. I'm a former New York State Assemblyman who defeated Democrat and 2 years ago came within 2% points of victory. Meanwhile, my opponent is a career registered Democrat from New York City. Who's bankrolled these leftist extremists for the past decades by donating tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats like Kathy Hochel, Elizabeth Warren, AOC, Tish James, and didn't even vote for President Trump in the first term. So the choice is clear for the people. Do we want to restore common sense with the next generation Republican who has skin in the game, or my opponent who's a Democrat plan and just wants to destroy us to help my opponent ultimately in November, Tom. We don't want that. We want to make sure we have the right right choice and the right voice for all of us. Well, your opponent Greg Hack has spent a million dollars of his own money in this primary campaign, and he says that he is the true MAGA candidate in the race, and he's criticized you. He's criticized your record. What does this boil down to in terms of what Republican voters need to know here when they make their decision today? Well, actions speak louder than. Words as a New York State Assemblyman, I voted for tax cuts. I was a top supporter of law enforcement, riding along with both federal law enforcement and local law enforcement. I was advocating for veterans instead of illegal aliens, and I was the co-chair of the statewide water quality task force preserving, protecting our water quality for future generations. This election is about protecting our homes, our families, our children. We need someone who's going to say it like it is and do what needs to be done on behalf of the residents of the. congressional district. That's why President Trump's all in on us. That's why Bruce Blakeman's all in on us. That's why local party leaders, as well as House leadership is all in on us. So they're excited for the next generation. My opponent likes to talk, talk, talk this game, spread lies about us, smear us because there's nothing else to say because we're rock solid on the issues, and we're going to make sure to continue that this November. Mike Le Petri, Republican candidate from Farmingdale, Mike.

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LIPRIMARYGUEST762326_2026-06-23-08-03-35

February election day and in the 3rd congressional district, two Republicans are fighting for the chance to challenge Democrat Tom Swassee. Joining us now, another one of the candidates in the race, Greg Hack. Greg, thanks for being here this morning. You have been all in on this race. You've spent a million dollars of your own money on it. Um, tell us about, as you head down the final stretch here, what voters really need to know. Well, what they really need to know is that, uh, that I'm in this for the right reasons. I'm putting my own money up so that I can tell the voters without a doubt that I'm not controlled by anybody. No party bosses, no big PACs, no donors, uh, nothing of the sort. I'm looking out for the voters alone, and that's something that we've been denied for far too long in this district. Uh, I'm highly competent. I built two of the top law firms in New York, each recovering over a billion dollars. I've advocated very successfully for 25 years for New Yorkers and working families. I'm. Absolutely the most qualified person in this race to do this job effectively and well for the people in this, in this district. Now, as I'm sure you're aware, yesterday, President Trump issued a second public endorsement for your opponent, Mike LeP Petri. The vice president was here last week, uh, essentially stumping for Le Petri, even if it wasn't technically a campaign event. What does that mean for you? And how are you kind of messaging to voters where you stand on the issues and with the president? Well, with the president and these endorsements that were engineered by the party bosses for my opponent really don't mean a whole lot. I mean, these are, they don't know Mike Le Petri. Not one of these people called me and talked to me. The party boss has the president's cell phone number and he can engineer these endorsements for my opponent. Um, organically I have, uh, Rudy Giuliani endorsing me, which is an incredible honor to have, uh, America's mayor and one of the greatest American patriots out there behind me, and he's done that after careful consideration and actually speaking to me quite a number of times and determining whether or not I'm gonna be the best possible candidate for, uh, or best possible representative for the people of the district, and he's agreed and he said that I'm the best candidate he's seen in a very, very long time, uh, and I think we've shown the voters that as well. Lastly, Greg, if you were to win this race, will you be able to pivot and issue a strong challenge to Tom Swesely, the likely candidate. He has a primary as well, but the incumbent here. I'm in this to go all the way. I'm in this to bring real representation back to the people of this district. My opponent, uh, in the general, Tom Swazzi, he's voted 100% of the time, 100% of the time with Biden's agenda, the same policies that have been killing our country and tearing apart the fabric of this nation. And I intend to stop it with the people. The people are rising up. The people are behind me. We've had hundreds of volunteers out on the street over and over again. I've, I've talked to hundreds and hundreds of, well, thousands and thousands of voters throughout the district, and it's made me a much better candidate. My candidate, uh, my opponent, has actually been hiding who he is. Uh, I tried to debate him twice. He refuses to debate me because he's hiding from his record. His, his, uh, campaign is about deception. Mine is about transparency, and I think the people see that, uh, and we're leaving everything on the field. We're gonna take it tonight. All right, Greg Hack, thank you as always. We appreciate it. Thank you, Rich.

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Candidates from various Primary Day races join News 12 live to give their final pitch to Long Island voters. 

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