New York’s 1st congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern Long Island. It includes the eastern two-thirds of Suffolk County, including the northern portion of Brookhaven, as well as the entirety of the towns of Huntington, Smithtown, Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, East Hampton, and Shelter Island. The district encompasses extremely wealthy enclaves such as the Hamptons, middle class suburban towns such as Selden, Centereach and Lake Grove, working-class towns such as Riverhead and rural farming communities such as Mattituck and Jamesport on the North Fork. The district currently is represented by Republican Nick LaLota. The district has been a swing district since the 1990s and a Republican-leaning seat since the 2010s. President George W. Bush defeated challenger John Kerry by less than a percentage point in 2004, while in 2008 and 2012, Barack Obama won the district by less than 5 points. In 2012, New York underwent redistricting, and the 1st district was slightly modified. In the 2014 election, Republican Lee Zeldin defeated Democratic incumbent Tim Bishop, who had represented the district since 2003. Donald Trump won the district by 12 percentage points over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. At the same time, Zeldin won a second term, defeating Democratic challenger Anna-Thone Holst by a margin of 15.6%, the largest margin of victory for a Republican since 1998. In 2018, Zeldin won re-election to a third term, narrowly defeating Democratic challenger Perry Gershon by 4.1%. In 2020, the district shifted back in the Democratic direction, with Trump carrying the district by only four points in the 2020 United States presidential election. In 2022, Republican Nick LaLota defeated Democrat Bridget Fleming in the newly-redrawn district by an approximately ten-point margin. As a result, it was one of 18 districts that voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election while being won or held by a Republican in 2022.
