Newsday's editorial board has endorsed Rep. Andrew Garbarino for a fourth term in New York's 2nd Congressional District.

Garbarino, a Republican, is 42 and lives in Bayport.

His Democratic challenger is Patrick Halpin, 73, of Oak Beach.

The endorsement is an opinion of the Newsday editorial board, not a news report.

The paper says endorsements are decided solely by its editorial board, and that its news division has no role in the process.

The case for Garbarino

The board describes Garbarino as a low-key player who builds relationships across party lines.

It notes that he chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, a post he reached in July 2025.

It credits him, along with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, with closing a deal to fund the World Trade Center Health Program through 2040.

The board says the pair appear poised for another win later this year, with almost $6 billion for FEMA to reimburse the state and city for 9/11-related pension costs.

It also credits Garbarino with going to the White House to restore counterterrorism funding for New York after it was cut by 80 percent from $187 million.

On taxes, the board says he was a key negotiator in winning a $40,000 state and local tax deduction with an income cap of $500,000.

It notes he missed the final floor vote on the 2025 Tax Act.

The board also criticizes Garbarino for not being more aggressive in committee oversight of the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents in Minnesota.

It says he should have subpoenaed officials and issued an independent report.

The challenger

Halpin was the youngest person ever elected Suffolk County executive, serving one term from 1988 to 1991.

He created the Long Island Housing Partnership, a nonprofit that builds affordable housing and helps first-time homebuyers.

He currently chairs the Babylon Town Planning Board and spent 17 years on the Suffolk County Water Authority board.

Halpin says he would seek federal tax incentives for developers to turn aging malls into housing.

He also says he would make all salaried income subject to Social Security taxes to stabilize the program's trust fund.

The editorial calls Halpin a solid choice for voters whose main goal is giving Democrats the House majority.

It concludes that Garbarino is the winning choice for Long Island regardless of who controls the House.

Voters in the district will decide the race in the November general election.