Democrats win back George Santos seat in hotly contested election – POLITICO

The special election was a nail-biter heading into Tuesday, underscoring just how much the district has shifted to the right since Suozzi was last elected in 2020.

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.

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.

Its time to move beyond the petty, partisan bickering and the finger-pointing. Its time to focus on how to solve the problems, he told a jubilant crowd Tuesday night at the Crest Hollow Country Club.

The diverse group of supporters in attendance included younger organizers who knocked on doors in Queens, where voters turned out big for Suozzi and gave him an early lead. A cheer went up for labor unions when the candidate expressed gratitude from the stage.

Thank God, Suozzi said at the top of his remarks, taking a moment to soak in his victory.

Despite all the attacks, 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 vaunted Nassau County Republican machine, we won, he said. We, you won this race because we addressed the issues and we found a way to bind our divisions.

Suozzis remarks were briefly interpreted by pro-Palestinian protesters, one of whom shouted, You support genocide.

Solidarity with Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war played a role in the race. Both Pilip and Suozzi are staunch supporters of Israel, with Suozzi saying he wants no conditions on U.S. aid to the Jewish state.

Suozzi also positioned himself as an ardent endorser of the bipartisan Senate border bill, knocking Pilip and Republicans who called it a nonstarter as being beholden to former President Donald Trump and prioritizing political gain over the countrys best interests.

Suozzis victory means Democrats have flipped the swing seat held until last December by Santos, a Republican who was expelled from Congress amid being criminally indicted on fraud charges. And it puts to rest for now anxieties the party had that President Joe Biden, who remains unpopular in the area, would be a drag on his party down ballot.

The 3rd Congressional District in Nassau County and Queens is one of about six New York House seats expected to be determined by close margins this year a tally that stands to determine which party controls the House in 2025. Though Biden won the district by 8 points in 2020, a Newsday/Siena College poll last Thursday showed Trump was now leading Biden by five points there. The district may be redrawn in the coming days by a commission tasked with designing congressional district lines in New York.

A potential rematch or at least another close race between Democrats and Republicans looms for this seat in November. Even though Suozzi is a centrist and oftentimes conservative Democrat, he remains a Democrat, a brand toxic in some corners of Long Island where the well-tuned Nassau County Republican apparatus has flipped several local seats over the years.

Suozzis apparent defeat of Pilip came after the Democrats spent big on the airwaves, his campaign outraising hers by millions. Suozzi may have had the benefit of a bigger campaign war chest and name recognition after 30 years serving the area in elected office, but Pilip and the Republicans had the advantage of staking out a hardline position on border security.

The Nassau County legislator held very few news conferences during her campaign, but hosted two outside the sprawling Creedmoor Psychiatric Center migrant shelter in Queens to denounce Democratic policies that she said encourage illegal immigration.

We did a great job. We are the fighters, Pilip said at her party in East Meadow, just outside the district. Yes we lost. But it doesnt mean were going to end here.

It wasnt clear if shell be the partys nominee again in November. Well have to wait and see, Nassau County Republican Chair Joe Cairo told POLITICO after Pilips brief concession speech.

Republican Reps. Anthony DEsposito, Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino and former Rep. Peter King joined Pilip on stage. Her fellow Long Islanders have been a constant presence on the campaign trail, often speaking at events more than the candidate herself.

While border politics and support for Israel were prevailing themes in the race, preserving abortion access and restoring the state and local tax deduction, or SALT, were other key issues.

Pilip is an enrolled Democrat but she campaigned in the special election with the full backing of Long Island Republicans. DEsposito, as an example, was omnipresent at Pilips events.

By contrast, Suozzi ran without party leaders like Gov. Kathy Hochul or New York City Mayor Eric Adams by his side.

He had taken care to distance himself from Biden, who came last week to New York City for three fundraisers but did not campaign for Suozzi.

In the final stretch of the race, after saying no one is above the law in a PIX11 interview, Pilip appealed to Trump during a CNN interview for help in her campaign. Additionally, House Speaker Mike Johnson visited the district for a fundraiser and rally centered in their 2024 campaigns, including immigration and crime.

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Democrats win back George Santos seat in hotly contested election - POLITICO