Democrat Tom Suozzi won the special election for the House seat left vacant when Republican George Santos was expelled from Congress.
Suozzi defeated Republican Mazi Pilip to regain a seat he held for three terms before resigning to run, unsuccessfully, for governor.
The victory reduces the slim Republican majority in the House and gives Democrats a much-needed victory in the Long Island suburbs of New York City, where the GOP showed surprising strength in recent elections.
Pilip conceded defeat and said he congratulated Suozzi in a phone call Tuesday night.
“Yes, we lost, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to end up here,” Pilip told his fans.
During the campaign, Suozzi, a centrist politician, leaned toward some of the same themes that Republicans have used to attack Democrats, calling for stricter U.S. border policies and a repeal of New York laws that made it harder for Judges detain criminal suspects awaiting arrest. rehearsal.
His victory will likely assure Democrats that they can do well in suburban communities across the country, which will be critical to the party’s efforts to retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives and re-elect President Joe Biden.
The unusual midwinter election became necessary after Santos was ousted by his colleagues in December, midway through his first term.
Santos won office in what had been a reliably Democratic district in part by falsely presenting himself as an American success story: a son of working-class immigrants who became a wealthy Wall Street dealmaker.
But many elements of Santos’ life story were later exposed as fabrications, and he was indicted on multiple charges, including accusations of stealing money from Republican donors. He has pleaded not guilty.
With no time for a primary before the special election, Democrats nominated Suozzi, a centrist politician well known to voters in the district.
Republican leaders turned to Pilip, a relatively unknown candidate with a unique personal story.
Born in Ethiopia, Pilip was part of a community of 14,500 black Orthodox Jews who were flown to Israel to escape civil war and famine in 1991. She was 12 years old at the time.
Pilip later served in the Israel Defense Forces and then moved to the United States after marrying a Ukrainian-American doctor in 2005. She became a U.S. citizen in 2009 and was elected to the Nassau County Legislature in 2021.
The short campaign was dominated by issues — abortion, immigration and crime — that are expected to shape crucial suburban races across the country in this year’s battle for control of Congress.
Despite having been an international migrant, Pilip criticized Suozzi over the influx of asylum seekers into New York City, accusing Democrats and Biden of failing to secure the US southern border.
In response, Suozzi spent much of the campaign talking about the need to strengthen border policy, pointing to times when he opposed his own party on the issue while in Congress. In the final stretch, Suozzi said he would support a temporary closure of the border to slow the number of arrivals, similar to comments Biden has made.
Suozzi hit back at Pilip on abortion, saying she couldn’t be trusted to protect abortion rights in places like New York, where it remains legal.
Pilip said she is personally against abortion, but would not impose her beliefs on others and would oppose any attempt by Congress to impose a nationwide ban. She has also said that mifepristone, an abortion drug, should be available nationwide.
Both candidates expressed their unwavering support for Israel in its conflict with Hamas, and even appeared side by side at a rare joint event meant to convey solidarity.
Democrats and Republicans will have a chance to fight for Congressional seats again in the November general election, although the battleground may look different.
That’s because the state’s congressional districts will be redrawn in the coming months due to a court order. Democrats, who dominate state government, are expected to try to draw more favorable lines for their candidates.
New York is expected to play a huge role in determining control of Congress this year, with competitive races in multiple races in the suburban and exurban rings around New York City.
