NY 1st Congressional District: Republican Primary Preview

LONG ISLAND, NY — Voters are set to head to the polls for the U.S. 1st Congressional District's Republican primary on Aug. 23.

Three candidates are facing off for the GOP primary in the district, including Anthony Figliola, former deputy supervisor of Brookhaven Town; Nicholas LaLota; chief of staff to the Suffolk County Legislature, former Amityville trustee, and former Republican Suffolk County Board of Elections commissioner; and Michelle Bond, leader of the Association for Digital Asset Markets.

LaLota received the endorsement of the Suffolk County GOP.

The Democratic primary was canceled and incumbent Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming is now running unopposed for the congressional seat.

The candidates are vying for the seat vacated by Rep. Lee Zeldin, (R-Shirley), who has led the district since 2015 after defeating former Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst. Zeldin recently won a GOP primary and will be vying to unseat incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul in the November election.

The redistricting of the 1st District sparked some controversy and a lawsuit, leading to the lines being redrawn by a court-ordered special master and also led to separate primary days for U.S. House of Representatives and New York State Senate, on August 23, and the primaries for the gubernatorial and New York State Assembly races, which were held on June 28.

Suffolk County communities in the 1st district include the East End — East Hampton Town, Southampton Town, Westhampton, Hampton Bays, the North Fork, Shelter Island and Riverhead — and parts of Brookhaven Town including Manorville, Ridge, Rocky Point, Port Jefferson, Coram, Brookhaven, Bellport, Mastic-Shirley, Smithtown, Lake Ronkonkoma and Patchogue.