WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Hempstead, N.Y., Mayor James Garner says he will try to oust veteran Democrat U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy in the Nov. 2004 election.
A nationally prominent black Republican, Garner is currently president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and has been chief executive of New York State's largest village for the last 14 years.
New York's 4th Congressional District, located on western Long Island, is generally thought of as a Republican stronghold though former Vice President Al Gore carried it in 2000, 59 percent to President Bush's 38 percent.
McCarthy, who was elected to Congress after her husband was murdered in a mass shooting on the Long Island Railroad, is known for her anti-gun activism. She defeated her GOP opponent in 2002, 56 percent to 43 percent.