Long Island Rep. Laura Gillen is facing a Democratic Party primary challenge as liberals rage over she voted to continue funding federal immigration enforcement.
Former state Assemblywoman Taylor Darling is throwing her hat in the ring in an effort to topple the first-term incumbent, who has been under fire from the left flank of her own party for her vote last month to back the Department of Homeland Security.
“People want a representative who is going to protect them and work for them — and that’s me,” Darling said in a recent interview. “Gillen doesn’t represent the community. The community is unhappy with the current representation.”
Darling, a black woman and wife of a Haitian hubby, is aiming to tap into local fury against Immigration and Customs Enforcement as protests rage across the country against the Trump administration over its increased raids and claims of overzealous agents.
Gillen’s vote onJan. 22 vote in support of DHS funding took place between the two fatal shootings of protesters by ICE agents in Minneapolis, which has sparked a national backlash.
Democrats think Darling could be a serious threat to Gillen.
“This is a real race,” one insider told The Post.
The 4th Congressional District on Long Island’s South Shore takes in Nassau County’s largest minority and immigrant communities from Elmont on the Queens border to Hempstead and Freeport.
About half of the district’s constituent are non-white — 23% Hispanic, 17% black/African-American/Afro-Caribbean and 8% Asian. The ICE issue could fuel which candidate Dem voters in the district will support come primary time.
Darling made headlines in 2020, when she revealed she had donated her eggs at a fertility clinic five times to help other couples have kids.
Despite the challenge, Gillen, a former Hempstead town supervisor, maintains favorite status with much of the Democratic Party establishment behind her, including Nassau County Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs.
“This is not a time for opportunism and ambition to get in the way of electing Hakeem Jeffries [the House Democratic Minority leader] as the next House speaker,” said Jacobs, who is also the state Democratic Party chairman.
“The bottom line is we have to win the majority in the House. We have to keep our eye on the ball. District 4 is a moderate seat. Laura Gillen is the candidate to win the seat.”
Jacobs even delivered a warning to Darling, saying she has made statements on social media that will come back to haunt her and would be fodder for Republicans if she were to become the Democratic nominee in the general election.
The incumbent’s campaign announced endorsements Monday from black elected officials in the district, including Hempstead Village Mayor Waylyn Hobbs, Jr.
Darling gave up her Assembly seat in 2024 to run for the state Senate, losing in the primary to Siela Bynoe.
While the Democrats are infighting, the Nassau County Republican Party has yet to select a candidate for the seat.
Former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, now the inspector general of the US Labor Department, has to decide in the next few days whether to seek a rubber match against Gillen.
He defeated Gillen in a close race in 2022, but she won the rematchin a hard-fought 2024 contest.
At least two other Republicans have filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission declaring intentions to run — Brian Miller and Air Force veteran Marvin Suber Williams.
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