Early political career Kaplan started her political career as a member of the
North Hempstead Town Board in 2011, and served until her election to the state senate. She had previously served as a trustee of the Great Neck Public Library and was also a member of the North Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals. Kaplan was defeated in the 2016 New York Congressional Democratic Primary by former Nassau County Executive
Tom Suozzi. Suozzi won the general election.
2018-2022 New York Senate tenure On April 27, 2018, flanked by Nassau County Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs and New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo, Kaplan announced her candidacy for the
New York State Senate's
7th District to a large gathering of supporters and state and local Democratic elected officials at the "Yes We Can Community Center" in
Westbury, New York. On August 1, 2018, Kaplan became the first candidate for New York State office to be endorsed by former President
Barack Obama. On November 6, 2018, Kaplan defeated incumbent Senator
Elaine Phillips and won election to the New York State Senate with 55 percent of the vote. Kaplan was re-elected for another term in 2020. Kaplan ran for a third term in the 2022 elections.
Senate committee roles Kaplan was Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business, and was a member of the Senate Committees on Children and Families, Internet and Technology, Judiciary, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Transportation and Women's Issues. She was also a member of the Legislative Women's Caucus. In June 2021 Kaplan was the recipient of anti-Semitic and mysogynistic abuse because she promoted Covid-19 vaccinations. She said in reply to the incident, “This incident is a sad reminder that
Nassau County is not immune to hatred and white supremacy, and it’s our responsibility as a community to forcefully reject this evil whenever it reveals itself among us.” In May 2022 when the
Proud Boys returned to
Rockville Centre for the second time in a year, Kaplan said the march was intended to "intimidate our community and spread their vile, hateful agenda." She later supported a group of anti Proud Boys people.
2024 congressional election In May 2023, Kaplan announced she would run for Congress in
New York's 3rd congressional district, seeking to succeed
George Santos in either the
2024 election or a special election if Santos were to resign or be
expelled from the House. However, upon the expulsion of Santos, Kaplan decided against running in the special February 2024 election to fill his seat, as
Queens and Nassau County Democrats tapped former representative Suozzi to run for the seat. ==Personal life==