On Feb. 13 in New York, Democrat Tom Suozzi won a special election to succeed the U.S. congressional seat formerly held by openly gay Republican George Santos, who was recently ousted.
According to NBC News, Suozzi's victory over Republican Mazi Pilip now cuts the GOP's already thin House majority even more.
In 2022, Santos won this open district seat by eight points. However, he was expelled from Congress in December 2023 following his indictment on federal charges and an Ethics Committee report that alleged he broke multiple federal laws and misused campaign funds. (Santos has pleaded not guilty; the trial is set for September.)
Before Santos was ousted, Republicans represented every congressional district on Long Island.
Suozzi is expected to be sworn into Congress during this month, possibly as soon as Feb. 15. He represented the district in Congress from 2017 to 2023. Suozzi did not run for re-election last year, instead deciding to run for governor in a bitter primary race against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Andrew Davis