Suozzi Wins Election for US House Seat to Replace Santos

February 14, 2024 Hour: 7:44 am

On Tuesday, Democrat Tom Suozzi won a special election for a U.S. House seat previously held by Republican George Santos who was expelled from Congress over a string of scandals.

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By defeating Republican Mazi Pilip, Suozzi has retaken the seat he held for three terms and further narrowed the Republicans’ majority in the House.

Suozzi won the special election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District located on Long Island to replace Santos, who was removed from Congress in early December over lies, scandals and alleged campaign finance crimes.

Santos survived two previous expulsion efforts due to the influence of the current House speaker, Mike Johnson, and his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, who both didn’t want to lose his seat to a Democrat in a special election.

JUST IN—

Republican Mazi Pilip concedes the race.

Democrat Tom Suozzi is the next Congressman for NY-03, filling the seat held by George Santos.

A massive Democratic over performance. pic.twitter.com/zU8dwvFCjJ

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch)
February 14, 2024

On Dec. 1, the lower chamber voted 311-114 to expel Santos, with 105 Republicans and 206 Democrats voting for expulsion. All Republican leaders voted against expulsion.

Santos’ removal triggered the rush towards the special election, prompting Democrats to swiftly unite behind Suozzi, who previously served the district from 2017 to 2023, and did not run for re-election last year.

In the short special election, Suozzi encountered a wave of negative advertisements targeting his stance on immigration, an issue Republicans believed resonated strongly with voters amid a surge of migrants heading towards neighboring communities to get to New York City.

In response, Suozzi promptly launched his own television commercials, emphasizing his endorsement of a bipartisan border agreement that was ultimately killed by Republicans.

Suozzi’s win further diminishes the already slim House majority held by Republicans by one seat, exacerbating the challenges of legislating in the future.

Once Suozzi is sworn in, Republicans will hold a narrow 219-213 House majority. This development spells trouble for House Republicans, who have faced difficulties in advancing even their own party’s agenda through legislative measures.

With the latest win by Democrats, they’ll face even greater pressure to compromise with Democrats in order to make legislative progress.