Bridget Fleming Announces 2022 Run For Congress

LONG ISLAND, NY — Surrounded by Democratic Party supporters and labor leaders, incumbent Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming announced a 2022 run for Congress Monday afternoon.

Fleming announced her candidacy for the 1st Congressional seat currently held by Rep. Lee Zeldin; Zeldin said recently that he will be running for New York State governor in a bid to unseat Andrew Cuomo.

In 2020, Fleming waged a Democratic primary to face off against Zeldin for the seat; Nancy Goroff took the lead in that nail-biter primary race. Zeldin ultimately retained his seat by a wide margin.

Fleming, a former prosecutor, Southampton Town councilwoman and incumbent county legislator who lives in Noyack with her husband Bob and son Jai, said she began seriously considering the run when she watched "in horror" on Jan. 6.

Her resolve strengthened, she said, as Zeldin voted to object to the certification of Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden despite the riots at the U.S. Capitol, in what could "only be described as an act of domestic terrorism and treachery," Fleming said. "For me, it was a last straw."

She added: "We Long Islanders can no longer be represented by a seated congressman so entrenched in personal ideology that he was literally willing to throw democracy out the shattered windows of the Capitol," Fleming said.

Fleming’s also discussed the pillars of her platform, her commitment to champion property tax relief through a fight for a SALT cap repeal as a member of Congress.

Fleming was endorsed by the Suffolk County Democratic Chairman Rich Schaffer, Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW and its President John Durso, Democratic Town committee chairs from Brookhaven, East Hampton, Islip, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Smithtown, and Southampton, and Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Rob Calarco.

“For too long, our district has been represented by someone who cared more about his job than he did about those of his constituents; and someone who cared more about his own political future than he did about our future generations. That changes the day I’m elected to Congress and that’s why I’m running,” Fleming said on Monday. “It’s time we had a representative who went to Washington to do the work of the people."

“Bridget Fleming is the champion Long Island families need fighting for them in Congress at this critical moment in our nation’s history,” said Schaffer. “As a tough-as-nails prosecutor, a town councilwoman, and a county legislator, Bridget has the backbone to stand up to both parties in Washington to deliver tax relief for our middle-class communities in Suffolk County. And she has the relationships it’s going to take to make sure we get our fair share from the federal government as we advocate together for a recovery that works for all Long Islanders."

Durso added: "She has always been a true friend of working men and women, and she has kept our needs at the forefront as a leader in local government. The 1st congressional district needs a true champion in Congress who will focus on the pocketbook issues that affect our members and their families. That champion is Bridget Fleming. . . We know she will fight for workers’ rights and a brighter future as we navigate out of this pandemic together."