Carolyn McCarthy (née Cook; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 4th congressional district from 1997 to 2015. She is a member of the Democratic Party. On January 8, 2014, she announced that she would not run for re-election that November, citing health; she retired in January 2015 and was replaced by fellow Democrat Kathleen Rice.