Rice’s announcement also means that Long Island’s House delegation will be almost completely new in 2023 because two other local representatives, 1st District Republican Lee Zeldin and 3rd District Democrat Tom Suozzi, each announced that they were leaving to run for governor. Freshman Republican Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who was elected the last cycle after longtime Rep. Peter King retired, should have no trouble winning now that his 2nd District has become considerably more conservative, which would make him the area’s most senior congressman. (Veteran Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks also represents a small portion of Nassau County, but almost 90% of his safely blue 5th District is made up of his Queens base.)
Rice, who got her start as a prosecutor in Queens before taking a post in the U.S. attorney’s Philadelphia office, registered to vote as a Republican in 1984, though she never cast a ballot until 2002. She joined the Democratic Party in 2005, the same year party leaders recruited her to challenge Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon, who had first won this office in 1974 as a Democrat and became a Republican in 1989 over his opposition to abortion rights.
Dillon had convincingly won his last term in 2001 by a 56-44 margin, but Rice ran a campaign where she accused the incumbent of treating his office as “his birthright,” offering too many plea bargains, and doing a poor job investigating abuse allegations involving the local Catholic Church. Rice also argued that Dillon, who had run for governor in 1986 as the nominee of the Right to Life Party, allowed his anti-abortion views to interfere with his ability to do his job. The Democrat, who proved to be a strong fundraiser, ultimately ended up unseating Dillon in a tight 51-49 contest.
Rice ran statewide for attorney general in 2010 when Andrew Cuomo successfully campaigned for governor, and the crowded primary for this powerful office generated little attention until the final weeks before Election Day. State Sen. Eric Schneiderman, though, made her part as a Republican an issue, and he ended up beating her 34-32; self-funding attorney Sean Coffey scored 16%, with much of his support coming from upstate counties where Rice otherwise performed well. Rice decisively won a third term at home in 2013 in what was an otherwise horrible night for Nassau County Democrats, which made her a compelling recruit when Rep. Carolyn McCarthy retired early the next year.
Rice won the 4th District Democratic primary 57-43 against County Legislator Kevan Abrahams, who ran to her left but raised little money. She spent most of the cycle looking like the clear favorite against Blakeman in a seat Barack Obama had carried 56-43 in 2012. However, a Republican group called Independent Majority Group launched a $450,000 buy in the final days to boost Blakeman, who held her to a 53-47 win during that GOP wave year.
Rice won her next term with ease, and while she considered another run for attorney general in 2018 when Schneiderman resigned after multiple women accused him of physical abuse, she opted to stay in the House. However, the congresswoman had an acrimonious relationship with Pelosi, whom she’d publicly called to step down as Democratic leader. Rice also took part in the disorganized failed attempt to keep Pelosi out of the speaker’s chair in 2019 after Democrats regained control of the chamber, and Nassau County Legislator Siela Bynoe responded by threatening to challenge her for renomination; Pelosi, for her part, soon blocked Rice from taking a spot on the House Judiciary Committee.
Rice, however, went on to win her final term without any serious intra-party or GOP opposition, and Pelosi soon awarded her old critic a spot on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that fellow New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wanted.
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