Former Democratic Representative Tom Suozzi Wins Back His Old Seat in New York’s 3rd Congressional District
4 min read
The recent special election for New York’s 3rd congressional district saw a significant victory for the Democratic Party as former Representative Tom Suozzi won back his old seat. The election, which took place on February 13, 2024, was closely watched as it was seen as a bellwether for the upcoming November White House rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump.
The district, which includes a sliver of the outer portion of the New York City borough of Queens and is anchored in neighboring Nassau County, has a history of being a suburban district where Democrats have performed well in recent cycles. However, in the 2022 elections, Republicans underperformed, and former Representative George Santos won the open House seat by a margin of eight points. Santos, however, was later expelled from Congress in December 2023 due to lies about his background and indictment for a slew of financial crimes.
The special election saw both parties pouring significant resources into the race, with national Republicans and Democrats investing heavily to influence the outcome. The top issues in the race were immigration and border security, crime, and abortion.
Tom Suozzi, a centrist and moderate Democrat, kept his distance from President Biden and his party when it came to immigration. However, the White House announced that President Biden had called Suozzi to congratulate him on his victory. The Biden campaign also argued that “Donald Trump lost again tonight. When Republicans run on Trump’s extreme agenda – even in a Republican-held seat – voters reject them.”
Mazi Pilip, the Republican candidate, linked Suozzi to President Biden and blamed him for the migrant crisis. However, Suozzi argued that Pilip was a far-right wing extremist and totally in line with Mike Johnson and Donald Trump. Pilip, an Ethiopian Jew who fled to Israel at age 12 to escape persecution and later enlisted and served in the Israeli military before immigrating to the United States, also highlighted her support for Israel and a trip she made to the country last year.
The final public opinion polls suggested that Suozzi was clinging to a slight single-digit edge over Pilip. With votes still being counted late on Tuesday night, Suozzi held an eight-point margin over Pilip. Turnout was considered key in the outcome of this election, and Democrats appeared to enjoy a slight edge in the nine-day early voting period, which ended on Sunday. However, a winter snowstorm walloped the New York metropolitan area on Tuesday morning, as polls opened, which likely cut into turnout on Election Day.
The contest may also offer clues to how top issues like immigration and abortion will impact November’s elections. The Congressional Leadership Fund, the main super PAC supporting House Republicans, ran ads accusing Suozzi of rolling out the red carpet for illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, the House Majority PAC, the top super PAC backing House Democrats, charged that Pilip was running on a platform to ban abortion.
The final days of the campaign saw both candidates campaigning heavily on crime and immigration, with Pilip also spotlighting the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel as she aimed to win voters unhappy with the far-left’s criticism of the Jewish State and support for the Palestinians. However, her support of Trump, who she has acknowledged she voted for in 2020, was potentially a concern with moderate voters who are not fans of the former president.
Suozzi, a campaign veteran, welcomed his interactions with reporters, while Pilip’s public appearances were carefully managed. The district, which is anchored in neighboring Nassau County, is the kind of suburban district where Democrats need to dominate in the 2024 elections as they aim to reclaim the House majority they lost in the 2022 midterms. However, Republicans have a history of coming out on top on New York’s Long Island. While Biden carried the current confines of the district by eight points in his 2020 presidential election victory, Santos won the 2022 election for the open House seat by the same margin.
The final public opinion polls suggested that Suozzi was clinging to a slight single-digit edge over Pilip. With votes still being counted late on Tuesday night, Suozzi held an eight-point margin over Pilip. Turnout was considered key in the outcome of this election, and Democrats appeared to enjoy a slight edge in the nine-day early voting period, which ended on Sunday. However, a winter snowstorm walloped the New York metropolitan area on Tuesday morning, as polls opened, which likely cut into turnout on Election Day.
The victory by Tom Suozzi in the special election for New York’s 3rd congressional district is a significant one for the Democratic Party as they aim to reclaim the House majority in the upcoming November elections. The race offered clues to how top issues like immigration and abortion will impact the elections, and the outcome may serve as a bellwether for the November White House rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump.
