A Conversation with Congressman-Elect Anthony D’Esposito

On Election night, finding out that he won the election

By Susan Schwamm

Anthony, it’s two days after Election Day, and it feels like this can’t be real.

But it’s real. It’s real.

What happened when you saw what was going down election night? It was almost down to the wire.

I was confident in the campaign. But when you start seeing numbers come in from communities that we weren’t do so well in, you start to get a little nervous. But the communities that we knew we were going to be strong came in strong, and I think we made inroads into a lot of communities that people thought we weren’t going to be successful in. All in all, it was a successful evening.

Take a place like the City of Long Beach, which is historically a Democratic stronghold – we won the City of Long Beach. We won the barrier island, and obviously the Five Towns was great. Hewlett, which we usually do very well in… Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere.... Atlantic Beach/Inwood can get a little concerning, but in all those communities, we did great. And then you go to the east end of town, Seaford, Wantagh, Bellmore, Merrick – which has been a Democratic area – we won Merrick. We even picked up votes in Roosevelt, an area where a Republican is normally beat by thousands. A lot of the volunteer fire service and members of law enforcement live in those communities and crossed the line and voted with us.

Why do you think it ended up being such a tight race?

This is a district where Democrats far outnumber Republicans. We haven’t held this seat in 25 or 26 years, and we won it. Once all the ballots are counted and we have a final number, I think we’re going to win this seat by close to 11, 12 thousand votes. This is a district that Joe Biden won by close to 15 points.

Do you think that 2024 is going to come out with those same results for Republicans?

I don’t know. In 2024, we’ll see where the political climate is then. We’ll see who’s on the top of the ticket, and we’ll go from there. Right now, my focus is getting down to Washington and rolling up my sleeves and getting to work.

Let’s back up to Election Day. The polls opened at 6AM and closed at 9PM. What was your schedule like on Election Day?

I slept in a little – until about 6:45. It was my first day not doing a train station in who knows how many months. Then I met with my Point Lookout Republican Committee at a diner in Island Park for breakfast. Then I went over to my campaign headquarters to see what our plans were for the day. At 10AM, I voted. I then snuck away for an hour and a half and went to my gym class.

After a quick shower, I went up to Franklin Square and campaigned a little bit up there with Lee Zeldin, and then came back down for some interviews. Then I went home for a little while, changed my clothes, and was at my campaign headquarters for the remainder of the day. During the day, I knocked on some doors in Garden City South, and later in the day, I headed to the Coral House.

It’s sounds like it was a busy but successful day for you. Now, that you’re an elected member of Congress, and you’re going to be starting in January, what’s the next step for you?

On Sunday morning, I’ll be getting on a flight with a couple of my staff members, and we’ll be heading to Capitol Hill for orientation. It’s a two-week process. It starts on Sunday, and we work for a week, and then I’ll come home for the Thanksgiving holiday. After that, I’ll immediately fly back that Sunday night for another week of orientation.

Are you going to be meeting all the freshman congressmen during orientation?

Yes, it’ll be all the freshmen on both sides of the aisle, along with the leadership. This is also the week where we’ll vote for – as long as all the races are decided – Speaker of the House and Majority Whip and all the leadership positions.

Have you ever met Kevin McCarthy before?

I have. I have met him multiple times. He was very supportive during this campaign. When he gave his victory speech on Tuesday night, he actually highlighted our race in his remarks. All the way from California he mentioned Anthony D’Esposito from Long Island. He was actually here in the district on Thursday, when he held a fundraiser for me in Elmont. We had about 25 of our very supportive donors there for lunch. Actually, the night before, last Wednesday, Steve Scalise, right now the Minority Whip and probably in January the Majority Leader, held a fundraiser for me and then came to the Nassau County Rally.

I once heard an interview with Gabby Giffords, when she was talking about her freshman years in Congress. She said that coming into Congress is like coming into high school. You know one or two people, but you don’t really know everybody. It’s that sort of dynamic. What do you say to that?

I’m looking forward to it. Listen, I was a proud member of the New York City Police Department. And obviously, you go to work and you go into a police academy where you don’t know anybody, and you’re there with a couple of thousand people from all different economic backgrounds, different color skin, different religions, different political ideologies, and you learn to know one another. You learn to work with one another, so I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve been in situations before where you’re going into a new world, not knowing a lot of people, and you make the best of it, and you work across the lines and make sure to deliver for Long Island.

And listen, I think what’s very important is that this election was historic. It was historic in that there was a call across America that there was going to be a real red wave, and that red wave wasn’t as strong as people thought it was. But these four seats on Long Island, legitimately, are the ones that will put United States Congress in the hands of Republicans. So it’s really historic.

Are you excited to move to DC at least part time?

I’m excited, a bit nervous, but I’m looking forward to it.

How does that work? Do they help you find an apartment?

No, you’re on your own. They don’t help you find an apartment. In the state legislature, if you’re a state senator or state assemblymember, they give you a stipend for living whether you stay in a hotel, whether you have an apartment. In Congress, they don’t offer that stipend. So wherever you’re living comes out of your pocket.

Congressman-Elect D'Esposito in front of the Capitol this week

“i’m going to go to DC to work with people on both sides of the aisle to deliver for this district and for Long island.”

That’s very tough.

Yes, it’s tough. Running a household in Nassau County and then having a secondary household in Washington, DC, is not easy.

Have you been in touch with Rep. Kathleen Rice’s office? Is she going to be giving you some sort of heads up on your position and district?

I have yet to speak to her yet. My opponent called me yesterday to concede. I’m actually in the City now. I did Fox & Friends this morning. I’m going on with Cavuto in a few minutes and then Martha McCallum at three. But I am definitely going to try to reach out to both Congresswoman Rice and Congressman Suozzi, and hopefully they can provide some tips on the transition. Once you’re in DC, what’s the first thing on your agenda you want to address?

First step on the agenda is working on Leader McCarthy’s plan for our Commitment to America. The goal is to get there, to roll up my sleeves, to really take a good, hard look at this Commitment to America and see what we can pull out of it to deliver, most importantly for the people of Long Island.

In terms of your seat as councilperson, who is going to be taking over for you?

I’m confident it’s going to be someone that’s deeply connected with the community and is looking to work as hard, if not harder, than I did to represent the people of the 4th District.

I don’t think they could work harder than you, Anthony, because you’re at every single event in the Five Towns, and I’m sure that was true throughout the district.

And that’s going to continue in my new position.

As our newest congressman, what’s your message for the community?

I’ve always been someone who is on the streets, who listens to the needs of the community, and that will continue after I’m in DC for a few days a week. The community needs to know that they’re going to have a representative in Congress that hears their needs, that sees their needs, and will be the voice for Long Island. I understand Nassau County. I understand the demographics and how Democrats outnumber Republicans. And I’m going to go to DC to work with people on both sides of the aisle to deliver for this district and for Long Island.