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Democrats gain seat in U.S. House as Tom Suozzi wins election to replace George Santos

Brigid Bergin

Catalina Gonella

and

Michelle Bocanegra

Published Feb 13, 2024

Modified Feb 14, 2024

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Tom Suozzi delivers his victory speech on Long Island.

Catalina Gonella

Brigid Bergin

Catalina Gonella

and

Michelle Bocanegra

Published Feb 13, 2024

Modified Feb 14, 2024

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Democrat Tom Suozzi won back his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday in a decisive victory over Republican challenger Mazi Pilip, according to election results from the Associated Press.

The race for the 3rd Congressional District, which spans part of eastern Queens through the north shore of Nassau County on Long Island, was largely viewed as a bellwether test ahead of November’s general election, where several contested congressional races in New York may help determine the balance of power in Congress.

The Associated Press declared Suozzi the winner shortly after 10 p.m.

Suozzi appears to have handily won the Queens portion of the district according to the city’s Board of Elections. With 99% of scanners reporting, Suozzi received nearly 62% of the vote in Queens to Pilip’s 38%.

Voters braved the largest snowstorm of this winter season to cast their ballots in the race to fill the seat of former Rep. George Santos, who admitted to lying to voters and was expelled from Congress following an ethics investigation in December. Santos still faces trial on 23 criminal charges, which he’s pleaded not guilty to.

Republican candidate Mazi Pilip concedes in the special election on Tuesday.

Michelle Bocanegra

Suozzi’s win is a major boon for Democrats who were seeking to wrest the seat away from the Republicans and weaken their teetering control of the House ahead of the November election. Once sworn in, Suozzi’s victory will narrow the margins from 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats in the House. A majority in the House is 218 votes.

At a celebration in Woodbury, Long Island on Tuesday night, Suozzi said his victory is a sign that Democrats can still make a persuasive case to voters in swing districts and suburbs, like those who turned out for him.

“This race was centered around immigration and the economy, much like the issues all across the country,” Suozzi told the crowd of supporters. “We won this race — you won this race — because we addressed the issues and we found a way to bind our divisions.”

The compressed campaign and special election was triggered after Santos was expelled from the House in December. Since it was a special election, party leaders chose their respective candidates. For Democrats, they opted for Suozzi, a moderate who had high name recognition across the district.

Republicans tapped Pilip, a registered Democrat with a unique background as an Ethiopian-born immigrant from Israel and Orthodox Jewish mother of seven.

In a brief concession speech, Pilip said she called Suozzi to concede, but said her loss was only a temporary setback before a Republican sweep in the fall.

“We are fighters. Yes we lost, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to end here,” Pilip said.

The race was driven largely by national issues, chief among them was immigration and the ongoing arrival of thousands of migrants in New York City.

But despite painting each other as extreme versions of their party’s ideals, both Pilip and Suozzi were largely in tandem on immigration issues, the Israel-Hamas war and ongoing dysfunction in Washington.

Suozzi campaigned relentlessly throughout the district espousing a pragmatic approach to solving the thorniest issues facing voters. He previously represented the area in Congress before Santos, but did not seek reelection. Instead, he chose to run for the Democratic nomination for governor against Gov. Kathy Hochul.

On immigration, he often cited his work across the aisle with former Rep. Pete King, a Long Island Republican. They worked together to draft a plan in 2019 for immigration reform, which the New York Times called, “The Grand Compromise.”

This story has been updated.

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Brigid Bergin

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Brigid Bergin is an award-winning senior reporter on the People and Power desk. She is fiercely committed to telling stories that help people engage and support democracy. In 2022, she hosted a live, ten-week call-in politics show ahead of the midterm elections called The People's Guide to Power. Brigid's reporting in 2017 included some of the first coverage of a political newcomer now known as AOC. In 2016, she broke the news of a voter purge in Brooklyn just days before New York’s presidential primary, triggering city, state and federal investigations. Brigid also guest hosts The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. She graduated from the University at Albany and the CUNY Newmark School of Journalism. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-723-4719.