Alison Esposito

Alison Esposito is an American political candidate and former police officer who served in the New York City Police Department from 1997 to 2022. Esposito was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 2022. She was also the Republican nominee for in 2024, but lost to incumbent Pat Ryan.

Early life and education Esposito was born and raised in Highland Mills, New York. Her father was a senior member of the New York City Police Department. She attended the State University of New York at Delhi, before attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice. After that, she went to the FBI Academy at Quantico.

Career Esposito joined the New York City Police Department in 1997 and eventually gained the position of deputy inspector and commanding officer in the 70th precinct of Brooklyn. She also served on a SWAT team, but retired from public service in 2022, citing dissatisfaction with the state government. In 2022, Republican U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin announced Esposito as his running mate for governor. They narrowly lost to incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul and Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado. It was the closest gubernatorial election since 1994. Esposito ran unopposed in the Republican primary for . She lost to incumbent Pat Ryan in the general election.

Personal life Esposito has openly declared herself a gay woman. She is the first openly gay major party nominee for statewide office in New York. Had she been elected to the U.S. House, she would have been the first lesbian to serve as a Republican representative.

Electoral history