Democrat Tom Suozzi captured a victory in the special election for New York’s Third congressional district to replace serial fabulist and former Rep. George Santos.
The Associated Press projected that Suozzi triumphed over Republican Mazi Pilip with 52 percent of the total vote counted.
‘This race was fought amidst a closely divided electorate, much like our whole country. This race was centered on immigration and the economy, much like the issues all across our country,’ Suozzi said speaking to a crowd of supporters Tuesday night on Long Island. ‘We won this race because we addressed the issues and we found a way to bind our divisions.’
Pilip gave a short speech thanking supporters just after 10am ET. She said she called to congratulated Suozzi on his win.
‘We are fighters, yes we lost, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to end here,’ Pilip said. She vowed to continue the fight to bring ‘common sense government.’
The result is a strong sign for Democrats heading into the 2024 elections come November when they will try reclaim the House after a Republican-led congressional term marred by chaos.
Suozzi’s win over Pilip slims the Republican majority in the House down even further. Republicans have just 219 seats and Democrats will hold a total of 213 seats with the addition of Suozzi.
His win could hamstring the Republican agenda due to their razor thin majority. Once he is sworn in, the House GOP can only afford to lose two votes to pass measures where all Democrats vote ‘no.’
Serial liar Santos was voted out of Congress after serving just 11 months in office following an ethics report revealing he improperly diverted campaign contributions to pay for Botox treatments, Hermes bags, OnlyFans and cash withdrawals at a casino.
Fearing the defeat in New York, Republicans rushed to push through the impeachment of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas earlier on Tuesday after it failed last week.
Democrat Tom Suozzi edged out a victory in the special election for New York’s tenth congressional district to replace Rep. George Santos
Suozzi, a former three-term congressman and Nassau County executive, left his previous congressional seat to run for governor, but lost in a primary to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
New York’s special election on February 13 is taking place in the Third District which includes parts of Long Island and Queens
With Majority Leader Steve Scalise back from his cancer treatment recovery and Suozzi not yet sworn in, they were able to lose three GOP votes and still pass the measure.
The vote also came just as a Nor’easter storm pounded New York with snow and threatened to impact voter turnout.
Pilip and Suozzi were both encouraging voters to get out and cast their ballots despite the winter storm warning through Tuesday evening as the Nor’easter dropped as much as a foot of snow on parts of the region.
Suozzi, a former three-term congressman and Nassau County executive, left his previous congressional seat to run for governor, but lost in a primary to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Polling showed Suozzi, 61, had a slight edge over Pilip, a member of the Nassau County legislature, after the calamitous Santos ousting.
President Biden himself stayed out of the race, with Suozzi telling CNN a visit from the president would not be ‘helpful.’
Speaker Mike Johnson stumped for Pilip in the district earlier this month.
Pilip has said she will support Donald Trump if he is the GOP candidate, but not if he is convicted of a crime.
‘Nobody is above the law,’ the Ethiopia-born former Israeli paratrooper said. ‘If he’s convicted of a crime, he cannot represent us.’
The candidates got in their last digs in the days leading up to the race. ‘The bottom line is my opponent, Mazi Pilip, is George Santos 2.0,’ Suozzi called the Republican while stumping in Plainview, N.Y., over the weekend.
Meanwhile Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman torched Suozzi on Pilip’s behalf.
‘Mazi stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me when we hired an additional 200 police officers in the last two years,’ Blakeman said on Cats Roundtable WABC 770 AM radio.
‘When Tom Suozzi was county executive, he wanted to defund the police,’ he went on. ‘He increased taxes. He made Nassau County a sanctuary county.’
Both candidates put Israel and immigration front and center of their races.
Suozzi has criticized House Republicans for refusing to negotiate over the border and has taken aim at his opponent’s opposition to the bipartisan immigration and foreign aid bill introduced in the Senate.
The $95 billion aid package was passed by the Senate Tuesday morning, but faces an uncertain fate in the House.
Pilip has criticized the bipartisan deal, claiming it ‘legalizes the invasion’ of the U.S. at the southern border.
Suozzi told reporters Sunday if Republicans blocked the bipartisan deal, ‘we’re gonna end up with more migrants coming to New York; and on top of that, they’re gonna have access to AR-15s.’
Pilip, a mother of seven who describes herself as ‘pro-life,’ has said she would not back a national abortion ban and every woman should be able to make their own decision, but has voiced support for the Dobbs decision in which the Supreme Court kicked abortion law back to the states.
She touted endorsements from police leaders and the border patrol union, which also backed the Senate immigration and foreign aid deal.
Pilip is an Ethiopia-born former Israeli paratrooper and mother of seven
The vote came just as a nor’easter storm pounded New York with snow and threatened to impact voter turnout
Perhaps where the candidates have been more closely aligned is their stance on Israel. Both have actively been engaging New York’s Jewish community as Israel carries out a war in Gaza following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7.
Suozzi set himself apart from some Democrats by announcing his support for the Republican-led standalone aid bill for Israel.
He said while he would prefer a bipartisan comprehensive package he is committed to doing whatever it takes to stand with Israel. That bill failed in the House.
Suozzi was particularly critical of Biden’s age on the eve of the election.
‘The bottom line is he’s old,’ Suozzi told a local news anchor. ‘I know 81-year-old people that are in good shape and I know 81-year-olds that are not in great shape. He’s old and there’s no question about it.’
There’s a ‘debate as to whether [Biden’s] going to stick it out or not,’ he added.
Suozzi was noncommittal when asked whether he would support President Biden in the 2024 election, saying he would ‘likely’ support the president but he would wait to ‘see what happens.’