Democratic former congressman Tom Suozzi won a special U.S. House of Representatives election in New York, narrowing the Republican majority that has struggled to pass legislation. The seat became available after the House expounded Republican George Santos, whose lies led to his indictment on fraud charges.
Suozzi defeated Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian-born Republican county legislator who served in the Israeli military. The win reduces House Speaker Mike Johnson’s majority to 219–213, making his job of managing an unruly caucus more difficult.
The New York district, which supported Biden in 2020 before flipping to Republicans in the 2022 mid-term elections, has served as a testing ground for both parties’ messaging ahead of the November election. A moderate Democrat, Suozzi vowed to work with Republicans to solve difficult problems, including the migrant crisis at the southern U.S. border.
He was briefly interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters accusing him of supporting “genocide,” a reminder of how the Israel-Gaza conflict has divided Democrats.Immigration was a central issue, as it has been elsewhere in the country ahead of an expected rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump in November. Pilip hammered Suozzi and the Democratic Party on immigration, accusing them of failing to control crossings at the border with Mexico. Suozzi called Pilip’s attacks against him misleading and said she has been short on specifics on how she would address border security.
He agreed that stricter controls are needed and criticized Republicans for rejecting a border security deal negotiated in the Senate, which collapsed after Trump urged Republicans to spurn it.
Turnout for the special election in February was further depressed by a winter storm blanketing the region, prompting both campaigns to offer free rides to polling places in the afternoon.
(Reuters)
