GOP, Dem Primaries for Gun Control Rep. Seat

A Long Island prosecutor hoping to replace a stalwart gun-control advocate who is retiring from Congress must first win a primary fight with a Nassau County legislator for the Democratic nomination in the 4th Congressional District.

Kathleen Rice, a three-term district attorney who ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general in 2010, is seeking the seat held by retiring Rep. Carolyn McCarthy. She announced earlier this year she will not seek a 10th term in the House after disclosing she was fighting cancer.

Rice is facing Kevan Abrahams, who is the leader of the Democratic caucus in the county legislature. McCarthy, who became a national figure in the gun control debate after her husband was killed and son wounded in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road massacre, has endorsed Rice.

Rice has attracted national attention for her crackdowns on drunken driving and cheating on college entrance exams; Abrahams argues he has more legislative experience.

The race also will see a Republican primary, where Bruce Blakeman, a former Port Authority commissioner, is running against political outsider Frank Scaturro, who has made several unsuccessful bids for the nomination.

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the June 24th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.