Daily Archives: February 14, 2024

Tom Suozzi, the Democrat in New Yorks 3rd congressional race, is well-known on Long Island.

Twenty years ago, he was a mayor and rising star in the Democratic Party. Now, at 61, Suozzi is in a neck-and-neck race with little-known Republican Mazi Pilip, and barely mentions in his ads that he is a Democrat.

And a clip from one of his ill-fated runs for governor purporting to show him soft on immigration is now a staple of Republican attack ads against him.

In 1993, Suozzi was elected mayor of Glen Cove, a small city on Long Island, one of the few bright spots for Democrats at the time. In 2001, he won a hard-fought primary for Nassau County executive, and defeated the Republican candidate in the general election, capturing a seat that had been held by Republicans for years. As a certified public accountant, Suozzi billed himself as a technocrat who could lower taxes and crime while boosting the economy and local services.

From the countys executive office, Suozzi aimed higher and waged a primary campaign for governor against the partys preferred candidate, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Suozzi got crushed in that 2006 primary, and in 2009, he narrowly lost his bid for a third term as county executive. In 2013, Suozzi lost a race to recapture the county executive seat.

After a few years in the private sector, Suozzi returned to electoral politics, winning a congressional seat that included parts of Nassau County and Queens. Suozzi held the seat for three terms, casting himself as a moderate.

In 2020, he fended off a little-known Republican challenger named George Santos. And in 2022, Suozzi chose not to seek reelection, opting instead to run another primary campaign for governor. This time, he ran against Kathy Hochul, who was elevated to the position in August 2021 when Andrew M. Cuomo resigned amid accusations he harassed several women.

Hochul defeated Suozzi and another primary challenger, but not before Suozzi bragged during a debate that he kicked ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] out of Nassau County.

That clip is now featured in a host of Republican attack ads in the congressional race.

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Who is Tom Suozzi, Democrat in New York's special election - The Washington Post

In a big win for House Democrats, Tom Suozzi won the special election in New York's 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday. His victory over Republican Mazi Pilip means he'll fill the House seat of disgraced former Republican Rep. George Santos.

Heres why the special election took place and why it matters beyond New York.

Santos was kicked out of the House of Representatives last December in a bipartisan vote following the release of a report from the House Ethics Committee that found there was substantial evidence he had violated campaign finance laws. Santos became the sixth House member ever to be expelled.

NY-03 includes the Long Island suburbs and a small portion of Queens. Voters decided Tuesday that Suozzi will fill Santoss seat to complete the 11 months remaining in his term.

Suozzi and Republican Mazi Pilip went head to head for Santoss seat.

At the time the Associated Press called the vote, Suozzi had 59% of the vote, while Pilip had 41%. Pilip conceded and congratulated Suozzi. Both candidates are likely to face off again this year in November since they have both committed to run for full congressional terms.

Suozzi, a moderate Democrat, had the benefit of name recognition since he previously represented NY-03 for six years. He gave up his seat when he ran for governor, but lost to Kathy Hochul, in 2022.

Pilip is a county lawmaker and Ethiopian immigrant who migrated to Israel when she was 12. She served in the Israel Defense Forces before moving to the U.S. While a registered Democrat, she was elected to the Nassau County Legislature as a Republican.

Since Suozzi flipped the seat for Democrats, Republicans now have an even thinner majority over Democrats in the House (219-213). That means Republicans can only afford two defections from their GOP colleagues on key votes at a time when they have struggled to maintain unity on key legislation.

House Democrats now gain even greater leverage and could force Republicans to work across the aisle in order to pass legislation.

On a national level, Suozzi's win in NY-03 could provide a messaging guide for Democrats competing in similar districts in the presidential election this November, especially when it comes to issues like immigration and border security. As New York deals with a massive influx of migrants, Suozzi held a firm line on the issue and even called on President Biden to temporarily close the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Democrat Tom Suozzi wins special election to fill George Santos's House seat. Here's why it matters beyond New York. - Yahoo News

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

On Tuesday,Democrat Tom Suozzi was elected to replace indicted former GOP Rep. George Santos of New York in a special House election widely viewed as a bellwether contestahead of the presidential election.

Suozzi, who represented New Yorks 3rd Congressional District for three terms before stepping down in 2022 to run for governor of the state, will reclaim his old House seat following Santos expulsion nearly two months ago. Santos brief career in Congress was filled with seemingly endless scandal: He now faces 23 federal criminal charges, including money laundering, wire fraud, and lying on congressional disclosure forms.

The lead-up to election night in the swing district was notably tense, with Suozzi holding a narrow lead in the polls against his opponent, Mazi Pilip, a Nassau County legislator whom Suozzi referred to as Santos 2.0. According to a recent poll from Emerson College, Pilipa former Israel Defense Forces paratrooperwas more popular among voters on issues like Israels war in Gaza and border security; Suozzi was more trusted on abortion and the Ukraine war.

The special election comes after significant Republican gains in New York, a state that traditionally votes blue. In recent years, several New York Republicanshave found success at the polls by taking a tough-on-crime stance. As my colleague Noah Lanard wrote in late 2022:

Nationally in this years midterms, Republicans mostly failed in efforts to weaponize rising crime rates. But in New York, they were remarkably successful. Heading into the election, 28 percent of New Yorkersrankedcrime as their top prioritymore than any other issuein contrast, only 5 percent of voters listed crime or guns as their top concerns in anational survey that month. The year before this election, Republicans had used the same crime messaging to great effect on Long Island, where moderate Democrats lost in races they were initially favored to win.

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Democrat Wins Special Election for George Santos' House Seat Mother Jones - Mother Jones

As I prepared to write this ahead of Tuesdays special election to replace George Santos in New Yorks Third District, two completely different outcomes seemed easy to imagine or explain away.

One was that the results would be excellent for Democrats, like most special elections this year. If their strength was just about the low turnout, it might not say much about their appeal to the wider electorate this November.

Another was that the result would be excellent for Republicans, as New York and Long Island have been for Republicans over the last few years. If so, it might just be another New York romp, with little meaning for the rest of the country.

Either way, the special election could not tell us much about President Bidens chances in the general election.

In the end, it was a triumph for the Democrats. Tom Suozzi, a former Democratic representative, defeated the Republican Mazi Pilip by just under eight points (54 percent to 46 percent) as of this writing.

The result is significant in one sense: It puts Democrats one seat closer to retaking the House, and thats no small matter when Republicans entered the night clinging to a thin majority.

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Not an Ordinary Special Election, and Yet a Typical Result - The New York Times

Former President Donald Trump accused Nikki Haley of being a Democrat on Wednesday, days before a pivotal 2024 primary in the former U.N. ambassadors home state.

Shes getting clobbered by the Democrats, Trump claimed during a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Even though she probably is one, he continued. I think she probably is.

Trump backed up the accusation that Haley, the last remaining opponent in the 2024 Republican primary, is a Democrat by noting instances of Democratic donors giving to her campaign or affiliated super PACs.

Nikki has gone so far left because of her Democrat donors, he told a crowd of supporters. Shes actually got very little money now because they all gave up because shes getting like there was one poll that says she has no chance.

The radical-left Democrats want Nikki Haley because they know shes easy to beat, he claimed. However, in polls where Biden defeats Haley, he often defeats Trump by a similar margin.

The former president also pointed to the fact that the South Carolina Republican primary is open, as the state doesnt have party registration. Nikki Haley is pushing Democrats to vote, he said. So if you dont want liberals and Marxists to meddle in your primary, which they shouldnt be able to do, then you have to get out and get every patriot you know to come out next week and vote.

During the rally, Trump also pushed back on perceived gaffes he has made on the campaign trail. He claimed that hes imitated Biden on occasion, appearing to be lost trying to get off the stage, and that the fake news frames it as Trump, himself, having a problem. These are very dishonest, he said.

Further, he claimed a recent moment when he seemingly mistook Haley for Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was also purposeful. Its very hard to be sarcastic, he explained. When I purposely interpose names, they said he didnt know Pelosi from Nikki.

Haley has used the apparent slip-ups to question the 77-year-old Trumps mental fitness for office. Her campaign did not respond to a request for comment but attacked the former president on Wednesday night for attempting to clean up his mess.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Its the same script every time: Donald Trump says something unhinged, faces backlash, and scrambles to clean up his mess with a dirty mop, said Haley spokeswoman AnnMarie Graham-Barnes. Seventy percent of Americans dont want Joe Bidens forgetfulness or Trumps perpetual chaos machine.

Trump is expected to defeat Haley in the South Carolina Republican primary on Feb. 24, with the most recent Winthrop University poll showing him 36 points ahead of her. He posted 65% in the survey of likely primary voters to Haleys 29%.

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Trump slams Democrat Nikki Haley on home turf ahead of South Carolina primary: Shes finished - Washington Examiner