The East Hampton Town Democratic Party will host a forum for candidates for the party’s nomination to represent New York State’s First Congressional District on Monday night from 7 to 8:30 at LTV Studios in Wainscott. Doors will open at 6:30. Registration is required and can be completed at by clicking here.
John Avlon, the author, columnist, and former CNN anchor who announced his candidacy on Feb. 21, will appear with Nancy Goroff, the Democrats’ 2020 nominee, who is again seeking the party’s nomination. Ms. Goroff, a former scientist and professor with Stony Brook University, where she served as chairwoman of the chemistry department, lost to former Representative Lee Zeldin by 10 percentage points in 2020.
Audience members will have an opportunity to submit questions for the candidates. Perry Gershon, the Democrats’ 2018 nominee, will moderate the forum. Mr. Gershon lost to Mr. Zeldin by four percentage points.
The campaign to challenge Representative Nick LaLota, a Republican serving his first term, was upended by Mr. Avlon’s candidacy. His Feb. 21 entry in the race was quickly followed by two other candidates’ departure from it: James Gaughran, a former state senator, and Kyle Hill, a former senior legislative aide on Capitol Hill, both suspended their campaigns. Mr. Gaughran subsequently endorsed Mr. Avlon, as has former Senator Doug Jones of Alabama. Mr. Avlon’s campaign announced last Thursday that it had raised $400,000 in its first week.
In a Feb. 22 forum hosted by Progressive East End Reformers, Ms. Goroff said that “the people of this district deserve so much better than Nick LaLota.” She said she is running for Congress again “so that I can protect our kids from gun violence and bullying, protect our environment from the extreme effects of climate change and from threats to our clean water, and protect our democracy, including women’s bodily freedom. And I am running to build an economy that works for everybody. In order to actually do those things and give people the representation they deserve, we need to flip the seat. And that means out-raising, out-communicating, and out-organizing Nick LaLota.”
At the same forum, Mr. Avlon said that “we’ve never had a major party candidate in American history campaign on an authoritarian platform — praising dictators at every step — and who already tried to overturn democracy and overturn an election on the back of a lie,” referring to former President Trump, whom Mr. LaLota endorsed in January. Mr. LaLota, Mr. Avlon said, “has been a Trump flunky from Day One in a district that Joe Biden narrowly won.”
A Democratic Party primary election will be held on June 25.
