John Avlon and Nancy Goroff, Democratic candidates for Congress, will debate Monday night at 7, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork. It will be available to stream on Southampton Town's SEA-TV YouTube channel.
The debate comes just ahead of early voting from June 15 to 23. The primary election is on June 25. The winner will face incumbent Republican Representative Nick LaLota in the Nov. 5 general election for the First Congressional District seat.
Mr. Avlon, who lives in Sag Harbor, is a former editor of The Daily Beast, an author, and a former senior CNN political analyst. Ms. Goroff is a scientist and former chairwoman of the Stony Brook University chemistry department. They will make opening statements and answer questions submitted by the debate sponsors and the public. Those wishing to submit questions must do so by tomorrow by emailing Neil Cohen, the head of the league's voter services committee, at neilcohen@gmail.com.
Ms. Goroff has run for the seat before, losing in 2020 to the incumbent at the time, Representative Lee Zeldin, by a 10-point margin. Two years later, after Mr. Zeldin vacated the seat to run for governor, Mr. LaLota, who lives in Amityville, won it by beating Bridget Fleming, then a Suffolk County legislator, also by 10 points.
While Mr. Avlon is a first-time candidate, he has picked up an impressive number of endorsements, including from Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and the Democratic Committees of East Hampton, Southampton, Shelter Island, and Southold Towns.
Absentee and early mail ballot applications can be found on the New York State Board of Elections website at elections.ny.gov, and on the site of the Suffolk County Board of Elections, suffolkvotes.com.
