Veteran Democrat Tom Suozzi beats Mazi Pilip in House special election to replace George Santos
Former Long Island Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi will return to Washington, DC, after winning the closely watched race to replace expelled ex-Rep. George Santos in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
Suozzi, 61, topped Republican rival Mazi Pilip, a 47-year-old Nassau County legislator, in Tuesday’s special House election to retake the hotly contested seat on a snowy day.
With 93% of the votes tallied, Suozzi led Pilip 53.9% to 46.1%.
“We won this race … because we addressed the issues and we found a way to bind our divisions,” Suozzi said during his victory speech to supporters.
“We know 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.”
He said the voters were sick of partisan bickering as he took a shot at former President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress.
“Let’s send a message to our friends running Congress these days: Stop running around for Trump and start running the country,” he said. “It’s time to find common ground and start delivering for the people of the United States of America.”
About six pro-Palestinian protesters stormed toward the stage just as Suozzi started his speech at the Crest Hollow Country Club, but were quickly escorted out of the Woodbury venue. One male protester was yanked off stage and tackled to the floor by security.
Meanwhile, Pilip gave a short concession speech, in which she told supporters she called her Democratic opponent to congratulate him on the win.
“We will continue to fight,” Pilip said in East Meadow. “We will bring common-sense government, I promise you.”
Supporters of Pilip were left stung by the loss.
“The importance of this seat is huge and the disappointment is equally huge,” Queens Councilwoman Vickie Paladino said from the election party.
While the race appeared that it could be close going into Tuesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee downplayed the loss while stating Pilip had a “bright future.”
“This was an uphill battle. Joe Biden won this district by 8 points, Democrats outspent Republicans two-to-one, and our Democrat opponent spent decades representing these New Yorkers — yet it was still a dogfight. Republicans still have multiple pathways to grow our majority in November,” NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC) said in a statement.
Suozzi’s victory will trim Republicans’ majority in the House to 219-213 — a fact pointed out by Santos on social media.
The expelled congressman, in a short tweet Tuesday night, only posted, “-1.”
Suozzi, who represented a large swath of the current district for six years, spent much of the campaign sparring with Pilip over abortion and border security.
In a last-ditch dig on Sunday, Suozzi had painted his opponent as “George Santos 2.0,” though Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman told reporters before election results rolled in Tuesday that he thought the fabulist ex-lawmaker was a “complete non-factor” in the race.
Meanwhile, throughout the tight race, Suozzi walked a fine line of positioning himself as a loyal Democrat — while also managing to keep his party’s brand partly at bay after the wealthy and conservative district gave Republican Santos an 8-point victory in 2022.
He confessed, too, that President Biden — even though he was in New York for fundraisers last week — would likely have hurt his campaign if he’d hit the trail with him.
“The president is underwater in the district,” Suozzi told The Post last week. “I don’t think that Joe Biden campaigning for me would help me.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is deeply unpopular on Long Island, was also absent from his campaign.
Suozzi put up a strong showing in the Queens portion of the district Tuesday, grabbing about 62% of the vote there before clinching enough votes in Nassau to emerge victorious.
The ex-Long Island representative, who was first elected to the House in 2016 and won re-election in 2020, gave up his seat to launch what would be an unsuccessful primary bid for governor against Hochul in 2022.
He had also served as the mayor of Glen Cove from 1994 to 2001 and as Nassau County’s elected executive from 2002 to 2009.
