In a close special election to replace former Rep. George Santos, Democrat Tom Suozzi beat out Republican Mazi Pilip by nearly 4 percentage points, reducing the already small Republican majority in House, according to NBC News.
Suozzi spent $4.5 million on the race between October and January. outspending Mazi by more than three times, according to Politico.
In his victory speech Wednesday night, Suozzi said he would focus his time in Congress on immigration, Israel, the war in Ukraine and “helping the middle class by getting the state and local tax deduction back.”
Speaking about himself in the third person, Suozzi said of the race, “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 Santuary Suozzi, despite the dirty tricks, despite the vaunted Nassau County Republican machine, we won.”
Suozzi served three terms in Congress from 2017 to 2023 before stepping down to run for governor.
Mid-victory celebration, protesters shout, ‘You support genocide’
Toward the beginning of Suozzi’s speech, an audience member got on stage with a Palestinian flag and began shouting, “You support genocide.”
After being removed from the stage, another protester interrupted Suozzi and said, “For the past four months ...” The rest of his statement was covered up by the crowd which began chanting “Suozzi.”
After the event, the Long Island Democratic Socialists of America posted footage of the protesters on X, and wrote, “Tonight, we helped Palestine take center stage by interrupting Democrat Tom Suozzi’s victory speech. In the House and on the campaign trail, Suozzi has made his support for Israel’s genocide clear.”
What does Tom Suozzi’s win mean for the House?
With Suozzi’s Tuesday night victory, the House of Representatives now has 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats, with three vacancies.
Special elections are still to be held for Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, and Brian Higgins, D-N.Y.
Suozzi may have the ability to sway the House on the recent $118 billion border deal which passed the Senate Tuesday morning, which Suozzi said he would support, as the New York Post reported.