$2,858,864.73. That’s what Laura Gillen had in her campaign account when the Nassau County Republican Party’s handpicked challenger walked out the door.
John DeGrace, former mayor of Valley Stream and a sitting trustee on the Nassau Community College board, pulled out of the Republican primary race for New York’s 4th Congressional District. He didn’t return calls or messages seeking comment, according to Long Island Press, as of April 13. That left Nassau County Republicans without a clear contender and roughly ten weeks to figure out who’s running against a well-funded incumbent in a race that’s become one of the more reliably unstable swing seats in the state’s congressional map.
The primary is June 23. The clock’s running.
Nassau County Republican Committee chairman Joseph Cairo Jr. confirmed that two vacancies need to be filled. He didn’t name the replacements. What he did say, in the kind of boilerplate that party chairmen reach for when they don’t have specifics, is that the two replacement candidates would be “highly qualified” and would “represent the voters’ priorities of affordability and safe communities,” he said. He also said the Nassau County GOP is “energized to continue the Red Wave that has swept across Nassau County.” Whatever that means in concrete terms, Cairo hasn’t shown voters yet.
Here’s what the FEC data actually shows. Three Republicans are currently listed for the District’s 4th Congressional District primary: Marvin Suber-Williams, Dennis McGrath, and Brian Miller. McGrath is the only one of the three who’s raised anything at all, reporting $10,000 in other loans as of April 13. Suber-Williams and Miller show $0. That’s not a campaign war chest. That’s pocket change sitting next to $2.8 million.
Gillen’s $2,858,864.73 came predominantly from individual contributions, putting her in a position that most challengers would need years to match. The Gillen campaign isn’t being subtle about what they think of the GOP’s approach. “The Nassau GOP has gamed the system in order to secretly handpick their candidate after the filing deadline,” a campaign spokesman told reporters. “NY-04 deserves a leader who doesn’t sneak in through the back door.”
It’s a charge that cuts because the timing backs it up. DeGrace stepped away after the filing deadline, which hands the county committee the ability to designate a replacement outside the normal petition process. That’s legal. It’s also exactly the kind of maneuver that makes taxpayer advocates and good-government types reach for their phones.
The seat’s history explains why both parties are paying attention. NY-04 has changed hands in each of the last three cycles. Democrat Kathleen Rice held it, then Anthony D’Esposito beat Gillen for it in 2022, then Gillen came back and beat D’Esposito in 2024. D’Esposito moved on to an inspector general post at the U.S. Department of Labor. The district doesn’t stay put, which means a well-organized Republican with real money could still make this competitive. The party just hasn’t produced that candidate yet.
What Nassau Republicans do have, apparently, is Cairo’s optimism and an unnamed roster. That’s a thin foundation for a June race. The $30,437 gap between what McGrath has reported and what a credible challenger would realistically need to run television and digital in a New York suburban district is the kind of difference that shows up in outcomes, not just spreadsheets. Can’t close that gap with press releases about red waves.
The Democratic side isn’t without its own complications. Five primary challengers are attempting to push Gillen out before she can face the general election. That’s a crowded lane, and it means Gillen’s $2.8 million won’t all be pointed at Republicans in the fall. She has work to do in April and May too.
But for now, the more immediate story is on the Republican side, where a party committee is quietly shopping for a candidate, a chairman is promising quality without delivering names, and a June 23 deadline is approaching faster than the fundraising numbers suggest anyone is ready for.
Cairo still hasn’t said who’s running.