Long Island Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen declared victory Tuesday night after decisively holding onto her seat for another two years — a victory over her GOP challenger considered crucial to helping decide which party holds the House majority.

“In this election, democrats, republicans, and independents came together to choose common sense over chaos,” Gillen said from the Nassau County Democrats’ election night watch party.

“We’re going to flip the House and it looks like we’re going to flip the Senate,” she said, accurately calling how the midterms results fell across the country.

Gillen, 57, is now set to serve her second term in Congress for New York’s 4th Congressional District after coming out on top against MAGA-aligned Jeanine Driscoll in a critical blow for Republicans who were hoping to flip the district back red.

The congresswoman took Tuesday’s race by more than 16 points, winning 57.9% of the vote to Driscoll’s 41.8%. 

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NY-4 was considered a crucial race that could help decide which party holds the House majority in Congress and may have major impacts on Trump’s presidency.

“The American people have sent a very clear message to the Republican Party, and to this administration, that they are not happy with what’s going on, and they want to turn a different path, one that solves problems, and brings down the cost of living,” Gillen told The Post about her victory

The race was considered a swing district to the GOP, as three Dems and four Republicans had served there since the 1980s, although the Dems have held power in the district for longer terms. 

The Democratic reign included an 18-year stint by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who retired in 2015, and another eight-year run by Rep. Kathleen Rice from 2015 to her retirement in 2023, before Republican Anthony D’Esposito flipped the district in 2022.

That year, D’Esposito beat Gillen in her run for the seat during Joe Biden’s presidency by about 10,000 votes, according to election data.

But two years later, in 2024, Gillen successfully flipped the district back from the rookie rep by about 8,600 votes in a rematch, according to state election data. 

Gillen’s victory made D’Esposito one of just 15 House incumbents nationwide to lose re-election that year. He later left Congress to become inspector general for President Trump’s Labor Department.

But despite believing they could flip NY-4 back to red this election cycle, the GOP had trouble finding a challenger for Gillen this time around. 

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D’Esposito declined to run for his old seat because of his new job, leading party leaders to eventually settle on Driscoll, who is currently serving as the Town of Hempstead receiver of taxes fewer than seven months before Election Day.

Driscoll, a Trump-endorsed nominee, pitched herself as a “tax fighter” who has helped thousands of homeowners lower their bills. She attacked Gillen for voting against the “Big Beautiful Bill” and ran on backing ICE and the police and on warnings that New York City’s socialist politics were creeping into the suburbs.

But the tax pro had trouble collecting for herself, as she was outspent massively throughout the race, with Gillen raising roughly $6 million to Driscoll’s lack-luster $684,000, according to FEC filings.

Just a week before Election Day, Driscoll was down to $2,553 in the bank, according to the filings.

Gillen’s campaign focused more on her record of bringing federal funding home to Long Island and on lowering costs for Long Island families. She also pushed to scrap the SALT cap entirely, defended Obamacare tax credits, and vowed to protect abortion access while distancing herself from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America. 

Before entering Congress, Gillen was the supervisor of the Town of Hempstead, where she became the first Democrat elected to the post in more than a century in 2017 before losing her reelection to Republican Don Clavin Jr. — who later resigned in a scandal-scarred exit from office. 

Gillen — a Long Island native who graduated from Georgetown University and NYU Law School — will head back to Washington to resume her duties after the win and will officially begin her second term when the new Congress is sworn in Jan. 3.