House Republicans set to launch TV ad campaign aimed at Long Island Rep. Laura Gillen

WASHINGTON — The House Republicans’ top congressional super PAC is reserving more than $1.32 million in TV ad time to attack U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen's record with commercials set to air starting Monday and continuing through the Nov. 3 election.

The Congressional Leadership Fund's booking of those slots in the expensive New York City media market is geared toward boosting Republican Jeanine Driscoll, who is challenging Gillen, a Democrat, in New York’s 4th Congressional District. The district is located entirely in Nassau County.

A spokesperson for the leadership fund, which is the primary political action committee aligned with the House Republican leadership, declined to comment Thursday on the reservations. Both political parties and their funding allies can undo reservations and shift money to other districts.

In a statement to Newsday, Driscoll expressed elation over the seven-figure booking, confirmed by others in both parties, and also over what she described as "tremendous support from local, state and national parties."

"House Republican leadership and RNC [Republican National Committee] Co-Chair KC Crosbie have fueled our fundraising and national organizations like MAGA Inc. and Congressional Leadership Fund have started spending and are scheduled to invest over $1 million more to win this district," Driscoll said.

The Nassau GOP has deployed hundreds of volunteers to get out the vote, she added.

Separately, on Wednesday, filings with the Federal Election Commission by another Republican super PAC, one affiliated with President Donald Trump — the "No Going Back PAC" — showed it has made late ad buys totaling more than $220,000 to oppose Gillen and boost Driscoll, including more than $17,000 since Oct. 2.

Eric Jones, a spokesperson for Gillen's campaign, declined to comment when contacted by Newsday about the GOP ad bookings, or spending from outside groups on Driscoll's behalf.

The Gillen-Driscoll race has so far not drawn much focus outside of New York, though party control of the seat has flipped twice in the last two elections.

Republican Anthony D’Esposito defeated Gillen in 2022 for what was then an open-seat race, only to see Gillen narrowly win their rematch in 2024 by 2.4 percentage points.

Driscoll’s campaign got off to a late start in the spring, with indecision by D’Esposito over whether he would leave his new job as inspector general for the U.S. Department of Labor to run again, only to finally decide against it.

That steered more interest from party strategists and Republican donors — and millions of more dollars — toward former GOP Assemb. Michael LiPetri’s reprise of his 2024 effort to unseat Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) in the nearby 3rd Congressional District, which is in parts of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens counties.

But there's been a concerted effort by Nassau County GOP chairman Joseph Cairo and others to draw more local and national money toward boosting Driscoll's campaign.

Both seats are seen as potentially pivotal to which party wins control of the House on Nov. 3. Democrats need only a net gain of three seats nationally to take the majority.

Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball, an election-handicapping newsletter, said he rates both races as "Leans Democrat" in favor of Gillen and Suozzi. But he said that for both Driscoll and LiPetri, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's being on the ballot as the Republican gubernatorial candidate could be a benefit.

Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) ridiculed the GOP for “mismanagement” of its money Thursday. “The Republicans are desperately spending money in places all across the country, including in Long Island, in a fruitless effort to try to defeat Democratic incumbents, while at the same time leaving Republican-held seats increasingly vulnerable, including in the North Country of New York State,” Jeffries said during a news conference in Brooklyn.