Crowded Congress primary as Democrats vie to succeed Rep. Kathleen Rice

Four candidates are vying to succeed Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) in a crowded Democratic primary featuring two sitting elected officials, a former town supervisor and a retired physician who is running for local elected office for the first time. 

The seat opened up in February when Rice announced she would retire at the end of the year after four terms.

The primary developed after Democratic Party leaders failed to convince potential candidates such as former Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and county Legis. Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport), the minority leader, to run.

Open congressional seats are relatively rare on Long Island, but this year there are three — and the 4th District race has attracted candidates from across Nassau, including two who have raised more than $400,000 each, according to federal campaign filings.

The 4th District candidates in the Aug. 23 primary are:

• Former Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen, an attorney who in 2017 became the first Democrat elected supervisor in the town in more than a century.
• Keith Corbett, the mayor of Malverne Village and an attorney for the state and county Democratic committees.
• Nassau County Legis. Carrié Solages, of Lawrence, an attorney and former Bronx prosecutor. 
• Muzibul Huq, who worked as a physician in Bangladesh before immigrating with his family to the United States. 

The winner will face Republican Anthony D’Esposito, 40, a Hempstead Town Board member, volunteer firefighter and retired New York City police detective, in the general election on Nov. 8.

The 4th District encompasses the southwestern region of Nassau County.

It stretches west as far as Inwood, and east as far as Wantagh and Seaford. It extends north to Garden City and Uniondale, and south to Long Beach, Lido Beach and Atlantic Beach.

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of 228,462 to 154,669, providing a 43% to 29% enrollment advantage for Democrats.

Gillen, 53, leads the Democrats’ money race, with $385,241 in her coffers as of June 30. So far, she has raised $553,724 for the primary, according to her June 30 report to the Federal Election Commission.

Corbett had $310,838 on hand as of June 30, and had collected a total of $400,704, including $160,000 he loaned his campaign, FEC reports show.

Solages had $82,565 on hand and had received a total of $143,385 as of June 30.

According to Huq’s June 30 report, he had $371 on hand and had collected $26,085, including $14,100 he loaned his campaign.

While Jay Jacobs, state and Nassau County Democratic Party Chairman, is not making an endorsement in the race, Gillen is touting endorsements from Rice and Rice’s predecessor, former Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola).

Gillen has made abortion rights a focus of her campaign.

“We’re seeing a call to arms for women, and for people who care about women, and for people who care about girls, that we see our autonomy over our bodies and our health care decisions being taken away,” Gillen told Newsday.

“I’m the only person in this race who is directly impacted by that decision,” she said. “It’s all directly on the line for me, … and I…