With less than three weeks until Election Day, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will rally with Democratic candidate Laura Gillen Thursday in New York’s 4th Congressional District, Spectrum News NY1 has learned. 

The Nassau County-centered congressional seat, which President Joe Biden carried by nearly 15 percentage points in 2020, is a top Democratic target in next month’s election, as the party looks to win back control of the U.S. House. 

Jeffries, who represents a district in Brooklyn, is poised to become the next House speaker if his party flips the chamber. New York could help pave the way to Jeffries getting that job.

What You Need To Know

  • House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will rally with Democratic candidate Laura Gillen Thursday in New York’s 4th Congressional District in Nassau County, a key battleground seat.

  • Thursday’s get-out-the-vote rally is the latest in a series of campaign stops for Jeffries, who has crisscrossed the country over the past month to support Democratic incumbents and candidates. 

  • Last month, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump held a rally in Uniondale, where he praised incumbent Republican Congressman Anthony D’Esposito as doing a “great job.” 

In the 4th District race, Gillen, a former Hempstead Town Supervisor, is vying to unseat freshman Republican Congressman Anthony D’Esposito. The race is a rematch from two years ago, when D’Esposito won by just shy of 4 points. 

In a statement shared with Spectrum News NY1, Gillen said she is honored to have Democratic Leader Jeffries campaigning with her in the district, saying, "I look forward to working with him next year in Congress to bring common sense solutions back to Long Island and start delivering results for Nassau County families."

Jeffries, in a statement, said, "While far right extremists who masquerade as moderates are determined to enact Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, Laura will deliver honest, dedicated and faithful representation to the people of Nassau County.”

Thursday’s planned get-out-the-vote rally is just the latest in a series of campaign stops for Jeffries, who has crisscrossed the country over the past month to support Democratic incumbents and candidates in key battleground districts. 

That campaign swing has included appearances at rallies or fundraisers for Democrats in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

California and New York, in particular, are home to several competitive Republican-held seats that Democrats are eying as crucial in their quest to erase the Republicans’ slim House majority. In New York alone, seats held by Republicans on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley, and in the Syracuse area are up for grabs.

Rallying in California for congressional candidate George Whitesides last weekend, Jeffries warned that “everything we care about is on the line” in the election. “We can either move this country forward or turn back the clock,” he told the crowd.

Top-ranking Republicans have also visited New York’s 4th District.

Last month, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump held a rally in Uniondale, where he praised D’Esposito as doing a “great job.” 

Speaking before Trump took the stage, D’Esposito told the crowd that the district is “the biggest target of the Democrat Party.” He called the Democratic Party “dangerous” and said he stands for a “secure border” and “backing law enforcement.”