The campaign for Republican Greg Hach released its first ad March 20, taking aim at his GOP-backed opponent in the congressional primary, Mike LiPetri.

Hach, a personal injury lawyer and Air Force Veteran from Oyster Bay, is challenging LiPetri, a 33-year-old former state assemblyman from Farmingdale, in the Republican  primary race for the 3^rd Congressional District.

Nassau Republican Party officials nominated LiPetri for the congressional race because he is a “proven vote-getter,” Nassau Republican Chairman Joseph Cairo told Newsday.

LiPetri served one term as an assemblyman from 2019 to 2021, then ran unsuccessfully in a primary in the 2^nd Congressional District in 2020.

Hach, LiPetri and a third candidate, Jim Toes of Manhasset, each hope to claim a victory in the primary and challenge incumbent Rep. Tom Suozzi for the seat in November.

Suozzi defeated Republican-backed Mazi Melesa Pilip to serve out disgraced former Rep. George Santos’s term in a special election last month after he was expelled from the House. Suozzi is seeking re-election to a full two-year term.

“New York’s 3^rd District doesn’t need another lobbyist ready to exchange money for influence,” said the ad for Hach, speaking about LiPetri.

Hach is running on a campaign that paints LiPetri as a “liberal” Republican.

The ad accused LiPetri of being involved in a “shady” cryptocurrency deal with Santos, never supporting former President Donald Trump and opposing constitutional term limits for members of Congress. The campaign ad also claimed that LiPetri was once a member of the Democrat Party and a staffer of former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“These past four years have been a disaster with open borders, rampant crime, and a skyrocketing cost of living, I support President Trump and will be voting for him again!” LiPetri told Blank Slate Media in a statement. “The people know I am a fighter, I stood up to Cuomo, I called out de Blasio, I defeated an incumbent Democrat to win a seat in the NYS Assembly, and in November, I will do it again as the Republican nominee for Congress in NY-03!”

The claim about LiPetri’s involvement with Santos referred to a New York Times story from July.

The Times said Santos, along with three other men, approached a loyal campaign donor and told him that a wealthy Polish citizen wanted to buy cryptocurrency but his funds were frozen in a bank account for unknown reasons. Santos and the three men asked the donor to create a limited liability company to gain access to the funds, according to the loyal campaign donor who remained anonymous in the story.

The newspaper said Santos partnered with LiPetri and Bryant Park Associates, which is run by Republican donor Dominick Sartorio, on this crypto deal.

LiPetri said he was not involved “in detail” in the deal.

“Mr. Santos only made the introductions. End of story,” said Joseph Murray, LiPetri’s lawyer.