Ex-CNN anchor John Avlon backed by big-name Dems in LI Congress bid
New York’s Democratic House members are taking a rare stand in a competitive primary, endorsing centrist John Avlon — who worked as a speechwriter for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani before becoming a CNN anchor — over liberal rival Nancy Goroff in a Long Island race.
Reps. Tom Suozzi, Gregory Meeks and Dan Goldman are getting behind Avlon in the 1st Congressional District, which covers the East End and other parts of Suffolk County.
The winner of the June 25 showdown between Avlon and Goroff will face off against freshman Republican incumbent Rep. Nick La Lota.
Prior to LaLota’s election, the 1st District was represented for eight years by Lee Zeldin, the 2022 Republican candidate for governor.
The trio of Dems believes an Avlon would give Democrats a better chance of flipping the seat — and with it, the House of Representatives.
“I am endorsing John Avlon in congressional District 1 because he is a common sense Democrat who understands that we need to focus on the issues Long Islanders care about. He believes we need to rebuild the middle class, restore the state and local tax deduction, solve the border crisis, protect reproductive health care rights and heal the divides in our country,” Suozzi said Wednesday.
“John Avlon is the best choice for Democrats in the upcoming primary because like me, he will work with anyone to get things done on behalf of the people he serves.”
The endorsement by Meeks is noteworthy because he is also chairman of the Queens Democratic Party and has close ties to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher for our country and our communities. So Democrats need to unite behind the candidate who can flip this swing district in Suffolk County from red to blue — and there’s no question that is John Avlon. He can fire up Democrats and win over independent voters,” Meeks said.
Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who represents lower Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn and who was lead counsel in the first impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, said of Avlon, “John is precisely the type of creative, results-oriented Democrat that can forge a better path forward for New Yorkers.”
Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic Party chairman who is also the leader of the Nassau County Democrats, has already endorsed Avlon, who Jacobs said Wednesday was “the singular candidate who can win the seat.”
Avlon, who spent 10 years as a columnist and editor at The Daily Beast before leaving for television in 2018, welcomed the endorsements from the trio of Democrats.
“We’ve got to both inspire the base and win over independent voters,” Avlon said.
Goroff, 56, a professor emeritus at Stony Brook University, is making a second run for the seat, having lost by 9.7 percentage points to Zeldin in 2020.
In response to the endorsements, a spokeswoman for the Goroff campaign shaded Avlon for keeping a residence in Manhattan in addition to his main address in Sag Harbor.
“It is nice that Congressman Dan Goldman is supporting his constituent John Avlon,” Goroff rep Maggie Touchton said, “but this election will be decided by the voters of Suffolk County.”