In N.Y. Republican Stronghold, Harris Ticket Lends Hope to a Democrat

Out at the exclusive East End of Long Island, John Avlon, the former CNN commentator now running for Congress, seemed quite at home last weekend.

He sat sweltering at the East Hampton Library’s 20th Annual Authors Night Benefit — billed by one publication as “the hottest ticket to the hottest event of the summer” — selling his book on President Abraham Lincoln as much as himself.

Seven miles to the north in Sag Harbor, where Mr. Avlon has converted a seasonal home into a full-time residence this year, neighbors recounted frequently seeing him with his children in the backyard, or at a community forum related to preserving the nearby home of John Steinbeck.

Yet as the November election contest between Mr. Avlon, a Democrat, and the Republican House incumbent, Nick LaLota, draws closer, Mr. Avlon’s residency — and his portrayal by Mr. LaLota as a carpetbagger — has become a recurring campaign issue.

Mr. Avlon and his wife have been regular visitors to the community since they married in 2009. They bought a home here in 2017 and, after spending extended periods here during the pandemic, moved full time earlier this year when he left CNN to run for office.