Tom Suozzi wins back George Santos seat in hotly contested election and seen as the decisive victory for the Democrats. His winning flipped a bellwether New York House district into the Democratic column, thinning an already small House GOP majority and potentially offering a preview of the campaign tactics in 2024 battleground races nationally.
Tom Suozzi, a Democratic former congressman, defeated Republican Mazi Pilip in the special election to replace former GOP Rep. George Santos in the Long Island-based 3rd District.
George Santos was expelled from Congress in last December following his indictment on federal charges and a damming Ethics Committee report, He has pleaded not guilty and is set to go to trial in September.
While Mr. Santos’s historic expulsion from Congress was about allegations of corruption, fraud and misuse of campaign funds, the race to replace him was about high-profile issues likely to matter in the upcoming presidential contest. Those included immigration, the Israel-Gaza war and abortion.
Both candidates,Tom Suozzi & Mazi Pilip and their backers poured millions of dollars into a campaign to hold the seat for only a few months. Mr Suozzi will have to run for a new term this November.
Tom Suozzi’s Tuesday night victory over rival Mazi Pilip denies Republicans a chance to pad out their slim majority in the House of Representatives. He will finish Mr. Santos’s term following his removal from Congress over allegations of fraud.
The race was a closely watched bellwether for the November elections.
In a victory speech briefly interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Mr. Suozzi said, “This race was fought amidst a closely divided electorate.”
The election marks a return to Congress for the Democrat, who previously served three terms in the US House but opted in 2022 to run for governor in New York instead.
The results allow Democrats to claim momentum in a crucial election year when control of the House and the presidency are on the ballot. The race featured themes Republicans have centered in their 2024 campaigns, including immigration and crime.
Tom Suozzi campaigned on a platform of compromise and common-sense governance — assailing both Republicans and members of his own party who refuse to work together during an era of hyper-partisanship.
“It’s time to move beyond the petty, partisan bickering and the finger-pointing. It’s time to focus on how to solve the problems,” he told a jubilant crowd Tuesday night at the Crest Hollow Country Club.
Despite registered Democrats outnumbering registered Republican voters there, polls indicated the race was extremely close for most of the short campaign.
Ms Pilip, an Ethiopian-Israeli immigrant and observant Jew who was hand-picked to run by Nassau County’s powerful Republican political machine, made immigration and unwavering US support of Israel central to her campaign.
Mr Suozzi also declared himself an unwavering ally of Israel and argued to Jewish voters that he would counterbalance progressive members of the Democratic Party who want to reduce or eliminate US aid to Israel.
On immigration, Ms Pilip blamed Tom Suozzi and Democrats for New York City’s wave of migrant arrivals and the crisis unfolding at the southern border.
