Anthony D’Esposito, a Trump administration official and former Republican congressman, spent months publicly vacillating over a potential comeback campaign for his old Long Island House seat.
One day he would be glad-handing at local charity dinners, the next he seemed more deeply mired in work as the Labor Department’s inspector general. Speculation swelled that a campaign launch was imminent in March, then the Nassau County Republican machine made an unusual intervention to buy Mr. D’Esposito time.
On Tuesday, up against a deadline to get on the ballot, Mr. D’Esposito finally made up his mind: He said he would stay on at the Labor Department, after all.
The decision was a setback for Republicans who viewed the suburban swing seat as a rare pickup opportunity as they fight to retain control of the House.
Party leaders in New York and Washington quickly tried to project optimism about their backup nominee, Jeanine C. Driscoll, a little-known local tax receiver who only declared her candidacy on Tuesday afternoon.
But in private conversations, several people responsible for trying to win the race conceded that Mr. D’Esposito’s Hamlet on Hempstead routine had left them at a disadvantage. While other top-tier challengers have spent months building public profiles and stockpiling cash, they pointed out that Ms. Driscoll, a comparative unknown, will start the race late and more than $3 million behind the Democratic incumbent, Representative Laura Gillen.
“This wasn’t planned — put it that way,” Peter T. King, a former congressman close to the Nassau Republican leaders, said of the protracted hunt for a candidate.
“It’s not the ideal race,” he added. “Anthony is obviously everyone’s first choice, but Jeanine is more than a second choice. She’s a good candidate.”
The official House Republican campaign committee in Washington put out a statement calling the race “a golden pickup opportunity,” but made no mention of their nominee.
“Laura Gillen is a self-serving, tax-hiking, out of touch hack who will have a rude awakening this November,” wrote Maureen O’Toole, a spokeswoman for the group.
Republicans have failed to secure a top-tier recruit in other New York swing districts, as well, as the party stares down what is expected to be a difficult midterm environment. The party struggled to find well-known candidates to challenge two incumbent Democrats, Representatives Pat Ryan in the Hudson Valley and John Mannion in the Syracuse area.
Still, no seat was more closely watched than Ms. Gillen’s in New York’s Fourth District, which runs west along the South Shore of Long Island from New York City.
Ms. Gillen prevailed over Mr. D’Esposito by only about two points in 2024, and Republicans bucked national trends last fall when the party swept local elections in Nassau County. Ms. Gillen is also facing a primary challenge from a well-known former state lawmaker.
Mr. D’Esposito made his interest in the race clear. Speaking with a conservative radio host, Sid Rosenberg, just days after he was sworn in as inspector general in January, he trashed Ms. Gillen, said that his Republican allies in Nassau County were polling a potential rematch and said he was working to ensure “the resources are going to be there” for a campaign.
“There is no question that we’re exploring it,” Mr. D’Esposito said on the show. “Chairman Cairo is doing the polling,” he added, referring to Joseph G. Cairo Jr., the Nassau County Republican chairman and a close ally.
He remained politically active at events in the district and on personal social media accounts, frequently posting criticisms of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a favorite target of Nassau County Republicans, and opining on other Republican policy positions.
But as weeks passed, and other Republican challengers rolled out campaigns across the country, he did not enter the race.
There were multiple reasons to hesitate.
The New York Times reported in 2024 that he had put his lover and the daughter of his fiancée on his congressional payroll at the same time, a possible violation of several House ethics rules. Mr. D’Esposito denied at the time that the arrangement broke any rules, but he did not dispute The Times’s account.
Then there was the issue of his current day job. Almost immediately after taking his oath on Jan. 5, Mr. D’Esposito found himself overseeing a politically sensitive investigation that remains ongoing, involving the labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, another former Republican House member.
Ms. Chavez-DeRemer has denied wrongdoing. Mr. D’Esposito’s office has not substantively commented on the investigation.
Mr. Cairo helped buy Mr. D’Esposito extra time by soliciting signatures for a placeholder candidate who would later decline the ballot line and allow the chairman to pick his replacement.
Mr. D’Esposito did not offer a rationale on Tuesday for his decision not to run. In a statement posted to Facebook, he endorsed Ms. Driscoll and said it was “an honor” to serve in Mr. Trump’s administration.
Mr. Cairo, who ultimately chose Ms. Driscoll, praised her in a statement as “a strong advocate for meaningful tax relief.”
Ms. Driscoll, 59, has been active in local civic life on Long Island for decades, but was first elected as tax receiver in 2023. The position may not traditionally be a launchpad for higher office, but it is not unheard of. A young Alfonse D’Amato served in the same position in the Town of Hempstead in the 1960s, years before he became a U.S. senator.
“If nothing else, people see her name on their tax bill all the time,” Mr. King said.
In a statement, Ms. Driscoll pointed to her record and promised to focus on cutting taxes. She said Ms. Gillen had advanced “policies that hurt the very people we should be helping.”
Ms. Gillen’s campaign fired back, saying, “Jeanine Driscoll’s participation in this corrupt bait and switch by Nassau County G.O.P. is a clear indicator that she will continue to do the bidding of the bosses who anointed her.”
Nicholas Fandos is a Times reporter covering New York politics and government.
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