New York voters go to the polls today in the crucial special election to decide who will replace Republican fabulist George Santos after he was dramatically expelled from Congress.
Democrat Tom Suozzi and Republican Mazi Pilip are locked in a tight battle for the vacant seat that includes parts of Long Island and Queens.
The winner of the special election is crucial because Republicans hold a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, signaling the mood of voters heading into the November elections.
The district was a Democratic stronghold for years before Republicans were able to turn it red in 2022 as part of a series of victories in the New York suburbs, which turned red in recent years.
However, Democrats believe they have a serious chance of winning back the district after the fall of lying ex-congressman George Santos, despite a difficult political climate for Democrats with President Joe Biden in power.
A Democratic victory would further reduce the already slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives The Republicans have only 219 seats, while the Democrats have 212 seats. This could give hope to Democrats who aim to regain the majority in the House of Representatives in November.
Polls in New York’s Third District opened at 6 a.m. ET and will remain open until 9 p.m. ET. Voters also had more than a week to cast their ballots in early voting.
New York’s special election on February 13 will take place in the Third District, which includes parts of Long Island and Queens
Democrat Tom Suozzi speaks at a campaign event on Sunday, February 11, as he seeks to fill the seat vacated by ex-Congressman George Santos
Republican Mazi Pilip casts her vote during early voting on February 9 as she campaigns for the special election for New York’s Third District seat
Mazi Pilip campaigns with the chairman of the National Border Patrol Council outside a migrant center. Border security has been a heated topic of debate during New York’s special election
Democratic candidate Tom Suozzi, 61, is a former congressman who represented the district for three terms before a failed 2022 New York gubernatorial election. He is a longtime political player on Long Island, having previously served as Nassau County Executive and mayor of Glen Cove had served.
Republican candidate Mazi Pilip, 44, is a mother of seven and an Israeli-American born in Ethiopia who served in the Israeli army before immigrating to the US. She was elected to the Nassau County Legislature in 2021.
In the weeks leading up to election day, both candidates have gone on the offensive, as a series of recent polls show Suozzi and Pilip at a statistical deadlock.
Pilip has worked to tie Suozzi, who served in the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, to President Joe Biden, claiming he voted with the president “100 percent of the time.”
Suozzi has withdrawn and avoided appearing before the president. Suozzi acknowledged Monday that the president is underwater when it comes to his approval ratings, but noted that so is Donald Trump.
At the same time, Suozzi has accused Pilip of being “Santos 2.0,” claiming she is unvetted, unprepared and vague in her record.
Santos became only the sixth House member ever expelled from Congress after just 11 months in office. He faces multiple fraud and theft charges and is accused of lying about almost every aspect of his background.
Pilip, who remains a registered Democrat, has responded that she is “very well vetted” and is proud of her record, while criticizing Suozzi as an extremist career politician trying to run away from his record.
Suozzi previously served three terms in Congress before making an unsuccessful bid for governor. Above we see him campaigning in Glen Cove, where he was once mayor
Ex-GOP Congressman George Santos is accused of lying about almost every aspect of his background. He faces multiple charges of fraud and theft. The trial will take place later this year
Santos has said he would not vote in New York’s special election to replace him after he was expelled from Congress last year
George Santos tweeted after Republicans failed to oust DHS Secretary Mayorkas, emphasizing that the vote failed. The Republicans have promised to try again, but it is unclear whether their narrow majority will get them the necessary votes
Perhaps no issue has been more confrontational during the campaign than border security, which also took center stage in Washington. Suozzi has expressed support for a bipartisan bill in the Senate to address the border and blasted Republicans for being unwilling to compromise on a deal.
Pilip does not support the bipartisan deal, one of the most conservative proposals in decades, claiming it would greenlight a migrant invasion.
The candidates have also clashed over abortion rights, gun safety and taxes, as the 2017 tax law that restricted state and local tax (SALT) deductions hit Long Island residents particularly hard.
Suozzi warns that Pilip will help pass a national abortion ban, a strong line of attack that Democrats have waged against Republicans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Pilip, who describes herself as pro-life, refutes his claim, saying she believes women have the right to make their own decision.
Pilip in turn accuses Suozzi of raising taxes. Suozzi has pushed back, pointing to his work to repeal the SALT limit during his time in Congress, an ongoing effort that has so far been unsuccessful for lawmakers.
One area where the candidates have found common ground is aid to Israel as the U.S. ally wages a war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 terror attack.
Suozzi has bucked Democrats by announcing he would support a standalone Republican bill to provide aid to Israel.
He said he would prefer a more comprehensive approach that would also include Ukraine and Taiwan, but that he would support one that applies only to Israel. Pilip told Fox News this weekend that she would support the $95 billion bill, which provides aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, if it were elected Tuesday.
One of the most immediately partisan measures Pilip would have to vote on if elected is the ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas after a Republican effort to oust him failed dramatically earlier this month.
Republicans fell one vote short last week but have vowed to try again with the help of Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who was seeking a cancer treatment.
Pilip has pledged to vote for impeachment, but if Suozzi wins the special election, it is unlikely that Republicans will have the votes to impeach for the rest of this Congress.
After the first impeachment vote failed, Santos posted on X “Miss me yet?”
Several of his former Republican colleagues responded and retweeted posts expressing concern about the GOP’s shrinking majority.
In 2022, Santos won the district, which was redrawn after the 2020 census, with more than 53 percent of the vote to Democrat Robert Zimmerman’s 46 percent.
In December, the state’s highest court ordered that the independent redistricting commission redraw the boundaries of the state’s congressional districts for the November elections. The commission has until February 28 to release the plan, but the ruling is expected to be more favorable to Democrats in the state.