Republican Nick LaLota faces off against Democratic state Rep. Bridget Fleming in New York's 1st Congressional District election

• Republican Nick LaLota is running against Democrat Bridget Fleming in New York's 1st Congressional District.
• The 1st District is located in the North Shore of Long Island.

Republican Nick LaLota faces off against Democrat Bridget Fleming in New York's 1st Congressional District in a race to fill the seat being vacated by four-term Republican incumbent Lee Zeldin, who is running for governor and is challenging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

New York's 1st Congressional District candidates

LaLota is the chief of staff to the Suffolk County Legislature. Prior to running for Congress, he served in the US Navy, deploying to 20 countries. For his service, LaLota was awarded a Joint Service Commendation Medal in support of the Global War on Terrorism. He also served on the Amityville Board of Trustees and worked as commissioner of the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Fleming, LaLota's opponent, is a former prosecutor who represents District 2 in the Suffolk County Legislature. Prior to running for Congress, she served on the Southampton Town Council from 2010 to 2015 as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's office, and as managing attorney for pro bono programs at the New York City Bar Association.

Voting history for New York's 1st Congressional District

New York's 1st Congressional District covers the North Shore of Suffolk County along with the Hamptons.

President Donald Trump had a 4 percentage point margin of victory over President Joe Biden under the district's previous boundaries in 2020 before it was redrawn to expand west and take in Huntington and Northport in redistricting following the 2020 Census.

The money race

According to OpenSecrets, LaLota has raised more than $1.2 million, spent about $1.1 million, and has about $155,000 on hand, as of October 19. His opponent, Fleming, has raised more than $2.4 million, spent $2.2 million, and has about $230,000 cash on hand.

As of late October, several dozen super PACs, national party committees, politically active nonprofits, and other non-candidate groups have together spent about $4.2 million to advocate for or against candidates in this race, including during the race's primary phase.

What experts say

The race between LaLota and Fleming is rated as "tilt Republican" by Inside Elections, "lean Republican" by The Cook Political Report, and "leans Republican" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.