Former Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen has declared victory in the 4th Congressional District, flipping it back to blue after Long Island’s red wave two years ago.

Gillen declared victory over freshman Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito with 97% of the precincts reporting. The balance of power in the House of Representatives could be determined by whoever wins the district.

The 4th Congressional District encompasses parts of Southern Nassau County. Voters, like Josh Burstein of Bellmore, say they’re surprised to see the district flip blue while former President Donald Trump carried Nassau County.

“That is a little bit surprising to me because it seems like there would be some sync there with D’Esposito and Trump, but I guess for whatever reason, I don’t know why, that wasn’t meant to be,” he said.

The race was a rematch of 2022 when D'Esposito narrowly defeated the former Hempstead Town supervisor and flipped the district red for the first time in over two decades.

Voters in the district say a number of issues like crime, the migrant crisis, and abortion were top of mind when casting their ballots.

“I know the abortion thing, that was the huge dividing thing for at least my family and like everybody that I knew,” said Andrew Borowski of Bellmore. “That was the big deciding factor on a lot of the issues.”

Voters here, like Lance Ulanoff of Bellmore, say they hope whoever wins will be able to work across the aisle.

“I just hope there’s enough people in congress to work together as opposed to working at cross purposes,” he said. “Whoever is in the White House, obviously Trump is in the White House, that everybody finds a way to work together for the benefit of us.”

This race is key because it would be one of three Republican controlled districts to flip blue in New York and could affect the balance of power in Congress.