Outgoing New York Rep. Kathleen Rice says she warned Democratic leaders that the party would 'lose' Long Island in the midterms

Long Island was a well-known Republican stronghold and a counterbalance to the Democratic politics of New York City.

In Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Democrats have won congressional districts and local offices that had been held by Republicans.

In the last few years, Republicans have regained some of their strength, winning the district attorney races in Suffolk and Nassau in the same year. Donald Trump won Suffolk each time he lost New York State.

Republicans won every congressional district in New York State that was anchored on Long Island, despite the fact that Democrats held a party registration edge in both Nassau and Suffolk.

Kathleen Rice said in a recent interview that she sounded the alarm to party leaders about the state of play on Long Island.

Rice, a moderate who represents the Long Island-based 4th Congressional District, told the news outlet that her warnings about the dire prospects of Democrats in the suburbs of New York City went unheeded.

The reason why we lost the majority was due to this blue, blue state. Four House seats were lost. I told the party leaders that Long Island was going to be lost. We are going to lose some other seats. They said that your seat was a Biden +13.

Every single Democrat on Long Island lost. They weren't popular and people weren't fond of them. They wanted to communicate with Washington.

While President Joe Biden easily won Rice's district in 2020, his standing among many Independents has taken a hit. Faced with the prospect of electing a swath of GOP candidates who rejected bipartisanship and continued to deny Biden's 2020 win, voters backed Democratic candidates in dramatic fashion.

Lee Zeldin, a retiring Long Island congressman, was the GOP's nominee for governor in November. Zeldin's coattails helped the GOP win seats in Long Island-anchored districts. Santos has come under fire for a growing list of false claims about his background after a New York Times investigation pointed out discrepancies in his work history and finances.

GOP victories in New York State gave the party a razor-thin US House majority, despite the fact that the state voted for Biden by a whopping 23 points.

The Democrats are still in control of the Governor's Mansion and the state legislature.

The Republican brand on Long Island is not as bad as it was in the 90s and 2000s.