Voting signs for the special election for New York’s 3rd Congressional District are seen in front of City Hall on Sunday, February 4, 2024, in Glen Cove, NY.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
New Yorkers will vote on their successor to the former Republican lawmaker on Tuesday. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress last year amid a spate of scandals and criminal charges.
Democrat Tom Suozzi, who previously represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District, is running in a special election against Republican Mazi Pilip to fill the seat left vacant by Santos’ ouster.
Polls show a tight race between Suozzi and Pilip in the district that includes parts of Long Island and Queens.
The race could have a major impact on the balance of power in Congress, but turnout expectations appear to be dampened by heavy snow that has blanketed streets and polling station parking lots.
Nationally, both parties are pouring millions of dollars into the contest, but Democrats have spent twice as much on advertising as Republicans, according to the New York Times — a total of $13 million in just 10 weeks.
Democrats typically could have an advantage in a special election to replace a disgraced Republican who has been denounced by his own party. At first glance, the 3rd District might even look like an ideal battleground for Democrats, who have recently made strong gains in American suburbs.
An exception, however, was Long Island, which saw a redder trend during the Biden administration. Including the seat Santos most recently held, Republicans represent all four congressional districts in Nassau County.
So it’s no surprise that national Republicans are working to keep Santos’ district red and avoid further narrowing the party’s already razor-thin majority in the House.
Democrats, meanwhile, view the seat as a crucial step in their plan to regain the House majority, as well as an opportunity to test some political messaging as the election year begins.
Pilip, a lawmaker from Nassau County, has worked to make the race a referendum on immigration, an issue that has galvanized Republicans across the country — and that has angered New York leaders in recent months.
Suozzi has taken a harder line on immigration than many of his fellow Democrats running for Congress, and he has countered Pilip’s attacks by calling her an extremist for opposing a bipartisan border deal.
Democrats have also tried to link Pilip to Santos, who had been shunned by his own voters long before he was thrown out.
In addition to fighting each other, Suozzi and Pilip are also battling another challenge: a severe storm that started overnight and has already blanketed New York City with several inches of snow.
NBC News reported low voter turnout at polling places in Syosset and Farmingdale. Only 199 voters cast ballots at the Syosset site between 6 a.m. and 11:25 a.m., and volunteers there blamed the storm for the lower-than-expected numbers.
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Last year, a federal grand jury in Long Island indicted Santos on a variety of crimes, including spending campaign contributions on personal luxury items and lying on his House financial disclosure forms.
He pleaded not guilty to that charge and another set of charges that were added to his case five months later.
Santos had served in Congress for just 11 months at the time of his expulsion. His criminal trial is scheduled for mid-September.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
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2024-02-13 18:24:17
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