NY-04: Former Assembly member plans to primary Rep. Laura Gillen over ICE funding vote (purple district)
Former Assembly Member Taylor Darling is planning to run for Congress on Long Island, setting up a competitive Democratic primary with Rep. Laura Gillen in a district that Democrats hope to hold onto as part of the party’s effort to win back control of the House.
“We are with the people,” Darling told City & State Saturday. “The community asked me to run, in light of recent mishaps.”
That “mishap” was Gillen’s Jan. 22 vote to approve increasing funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Gillen was one of just seven Democrats to join Republicans on the spending bill vote, which earned outrage from Democrats who saw the vote as condoning the tactics of President Donald Trump’s deportation regime.
Gillen defended the vote as funding the good work of DHS, including FEMA disaster relief. But she took a tougher line against the agency in the following days in response to criticism, even calling for the impeachment of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2026/02/former-assembly-member-plans-primary-rep-laura-gillen-over-ice-funding-vote/411448/?oref=csny-skybox-hp