22. Steve Israel

As if this seven-term Congressman didn’t have enough to do representing his North Shore district and trying against the odds to take back the House of Representatives as the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Steve Israel has found the time to write a novel, which comes out early next year. Called The Global War on Morris, it’s supposedly a parody of the NSA surveillance program featuring the misadventures of Morris Feldstein, a long-suffering Mets fan and pharmaceutical salesman, who unwittingly becomes a terrorist suspect. It might not appear on Edward Snowden’s reading list but Long Islanders might enjoy it because Israel promises there’s “a lot of Long Island” in it. And that is only fitting, since the Congressman launched his successful political career as a town councilman in Huntington—and he never forgets his roots. It’s unlikely he’ll have much time to pen a sequel until long after Election Day because he’ll have his hands full running his own race while helping fellow Democrats like Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) keep their seats too—and trying to take the House back from the Tea Party Republicans. But don’t rule Israel out when it comes to battles up on Capitol Hill.