Former NYS Senator Jim Gaughran announces run for Congress

Northport resident and former State Senator Jim Gaughran has officially announced his bid for the 1st Congressional District in Suffolk County. The Long Island native announced his run yesterday.

Gaughran is running to bring back SALT deductions, protect Long Island’s environment, and ensure reproductive rights and gun safety measures are protected and expanded at the national level, campaign leaders shared in an August 7 press release: “As a State Senator, Jim made significant progress on many of these issues and he will bring his experience and commitment to Long Island to Congress.”

Raised in Huntington, Gaughran attended college at Stony Brook University and earned his law degree at Hofstra. In 1983, at the age of 26, he became the youngest person ever elected to the Huntington Town Board, where he served as the only Democrat. There, he authored bills that tackled corruption and created environmental regulations. He continued this legacy when he was elected to the County Legislature in 1987, leading the fight to pass water protection and government reform bills.

In 2008, Gaughran began his term as Suffolk County Water Chair, where he raised safety standards above and beyond federal regulations, while keeping rates residents paid to among the lowest in the country.

Gaughran won a tough race to the State Senate against longtime Republican incumbent Carl Marcellino in 2018. As State Senator, Gaughran championed laws to protect women’s reproductive rights, strengthen gun safety, and further protect Long Island’s waterways.

“Elected to the State Senate in 2018 and reelected in 2020, Jim enshrined Roe v. Wade in the state constitution, passed significant gun safety measures to prevent mass shootings, protected Long Island’s waterways, and delivered millions in new funding for Long Island schools,” said campaign leaders. Gaughran declined to run for reelection in 2022 when the Special Master’s redistricting process eliminated any viable seat in the communities he has historically represented.

He will be running in 2024 for the seat currently held by Congressman Nick LaLota.

“Instead of focusing on the issues that matter to Long Islanders, Congressman LaLota has spent his time in Washington fighting to take away people’s rights and shielding conman George Santos from accountability,” said Gaughran. “We don't need a Congressman who is trying to cut reproductive healthcare access while nothing has been accomplished to reinstate our local tax deductions or protect our environment. In Congress, I will focus on helping Long Islanders instead of dividing us.”

Campaign Chairwoman Linda Beigl-Schulman, a national gun reform advocate who lost her son, a teacher, in the Parkland, Florida school shooting, said, “There is so much excitement for Jim’s candidacy because he’s shown time and again that he is the real deal and a man of his word. He passed gun safety measures, he protected women’s reproductive rights, and he delivered for Long Island, from protecting our environment to securing record funding for our schools. Jim will make an excellent Congressman.”

Huntington Democratic Chair Mark Cuthbertson agreed. “Huntington is the heart of this Congressional district and Jim Gaughran knows how to win elections here,” he said. “He’s absolutely the strongest candidate we can put forward, and he’s someone who’s dedicated his career to helping Long Island.”

Gaughran’s campaign website can be found here.