New York, with seven competitive races for the U.S. House of Representatives, will once again play a major role in deciding which party controls the chamber.

Republicans hold a slim lead of 220-212 seats in the House of Representatives, thanks in large part to the fact that Democrats in Congress lost four seats in New York in 2022.

On Long Island, Democrats are trying to unseat freshman incumbents Anthony D’Esposito and Nick LaLota.

With former President Donald Trump topping the Republican ticket and helping parts of Long Island turn red, LaLota is positioned to defeat Democrat John Avlon in the primary, which includes two-thirds of Suffolk County.

In the race for fourth place in Nassau County, a recent poll put D’Esposito and Democrat Laura Gillen in a vital dead heat.

However, a Newsday/Siena College survey released days earlier showed Gillen with a staggering 12-point lead in the district, which President Biden won handily in 2020.

Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi is trying to stop former state Assemblyman Mike LiPetri from continuing to represent District 3, which includes Nassau County’s wealthy north coast and parts of Queens.

In other swing districts, Democratic Reps. Pat Ryan and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler is favored to keep their seats in the Hudson Valley House, recent polls show. Ryan’s Republican challenger is Alison Esposito, a retired NYPD deputy inspector, while Lawler faces ex-Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones.

However, the state’s seats held by Republicans Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams are in danger of going to Democrats without a significant Trump bubble on Election Day.

Democrat Josh Riley is trying to dethrone Molinaro after losing the same race two years ago by less than two percentage points, while Williams faces state Sen. John Mannion (D-Syracuse).

If Democrats fail to regain control of the House of Representatives, it would be a “national shame” for Governor Kathy Hochul, Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs, and House Minority Leader and Brooklyn Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, according to longtime Democratic political strategist Hank Sheinkopf.

“New York will once again be blamed for destroying the Democrats’ chance to take control of Congress,” he said.

Republicans are gaining strength in suburban parts of the predominantly Democratic Empire State — in part because of New York’s sanctuary laws, he added.

“There is a general fear in the suburbs that migrants, crime and chaos in New York City will seep across the Nassau County border, across the Westchester County border and into the Hudson Valley,” he said.