By Elias Barcena Photo Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/ Associated Press
The results are in: the vacant seat formerly held by George Santos has been flipped, with Tom Suozzi winning the district with approximately 54% percent of the vote.
During his victory speech on Tuesday evening, Suozzi thanked a long list of supporters and aides. He also mentioned the political attacks by his opponent, Mazi Melesa Pilip.”Despite all the lies about Tom Suozzi and the Squad, about Tom Suozzi being the godfather of the migrant crisis, about ‘Sanctuary Suozzi,’ despite the dirty tricks, despite the vaunted Nassau County Republican machine: We won,” he said to applause.
On December 1st, 2023, members from the United States House of Representatives voted 311 to 144 in favor of expelling George Santos from Congress, making him the sixth member to share that fate. Initiated by Michael Guest (R-Mississippi), nearly all Democrats and more than 100 Republicans voted in favor of expelling Santos. This came as a result of the House Ethics Committee finding “substantial evidence” Santos violated federal law; stealing money from his campaign and using it on designer goods, Botox treatments, and vacations with his husband. The vote also came after a year-long controversy that included Santos embellishing parts of his life. He told false stories of his grandparents fleeing the Holocaust, his niece being kidnapped by the Chinese Communist Party, his mother dying as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks, graduating from Baruch College, and holding positions at Goldman Sachs.
Following the vote that left New York’s Third Congressional District seat vacant, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a special election would be held on Tuesday, February 13th. Two days later, Democrat party officials selected Tom Suozzi as their candidate, who held the 3rd Congressional District seat in New York from 2017 to 2023. In 2023, he then chose to run for Governor against Kathy Hochul, ultimately losing the race by 53 points. According to his campaign website, Suozzi is a former attorney and accountant running on a platform of reducing the cost of living, improving the immigration crisis, supporting Israel and Ukraine, and passing gun control legislation.
According to a statement released by the Nassau County Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs and Rep. Gregory Meeks, the Queens County Democratic chairman, “Tom Suozzi has a proven record of fighting for his constituents, fighting to safeguard our suburban way of life here on Long Island and Queens and always advocating for sensible solutions to the real challenges affecting everyday average Americans.”
Republican county party leaders chose Mazi Melesa Pilip, a registered Democrat, to run for the vacancy. A mother of seven and immigrant from Ethiopia, Pipip is an ex-Israel Defense Force gunsmith who is a newly-elected Nassau County legislator. According to her campaign website, Pilip hopes to deliver economic relief, repeal the New York cashless bail law, and stand firm against a nationwide abortion ban.
“Mazi Pilip is a formidable candidate with a unique biography: a former IDF paratrooper and mother of seven,” the NRCC’s chairman, Rep. Richard Hudson( R-NC) said in a statement. “Mazi’s incredible life stands in stark contrast to career politician Tom Suozzi, who uses his office to make life better for himself instead of his community.”
The short campaigning period for both candidates saw political action committees (PACs) devoting a large sum of money to the heated election. The House Republican Super PAC paid an estimated amount of 2.3 million dollars to attack Suozzi’s legitimacy as a candidate, accusing him of supporting weak border policy. Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee aired advertisements painting Pilip as a “MAGA” (Make America Great Again) Republican who supports cuts to Social Security and law enforcement jobs. The ad also showed her picture side-by-side to connect her political ideology to members of the far-right flank of the Republican Party, including Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Mike Johnson (R-LA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Suozzi was supported by organizations such as the New York State United Teachers, the Jewish Democratic Council of America, and the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, among others. He also received an endorsement from House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents New York’s 8th district. On the other hand, Melesa Pilip was endorsed by the Republican Jewish Coalition and New York Representatives Anthony D’Esposito and Nick Lalota.
Throughout the special election cycle, several news outlets have highlighted that NY-03 could be a key district with potentially serious implications regarding the electoral makeup of the House of Representatives. The 2022 election cycle gave the Republican Party control of the House by just eight votes. The narrow margin is being watched by many involved in politics, especially when considering the close-call votes that have recently occurred within the House of Representatives. Last week, a House vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed by a single vote. On February 13th, the resolution to impeach Secretary Mayorkas passed, with the vote coming down to a one vote once again.
The New York Third Congressional District consists of voters from the North Shore of Long Island and expands across Northern Nassau County and into Northeastern Queens. It is the wealthiest district in New York State, and the fourth wealthiest district in the country according to a Forbes study published in 2022. The district is mainly white and Asian, with these groups making up 59% and 22% of its population, respectively. The district is just one of 18 Republican districts that Joe Biden won in the 2020 Presidential Election. In the 2022 New York Gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Lee Zeldin took 54% of the vote.
The results of the election were surprising to many, with polling all throughout the special election showing the candidates to be neck-and-neck. Suozzi is set to serve out the rest of Santos’ term, which is due to end in January of 2025.