Tom Suozzi Back In!

Tom Suozzi returns to Congress.

The New York 3rd Congressional District goes back to the Democrats. The Associated Press called the special election for former Democratic congressman Tom Suozzi. He defeated Republican challenger, Mazi Pilip.

The seat once held by George Santos, the controversial Republican lawmaker who became a household name thanks to his lies and criminal activity was expelled by the House in October.

The New York special election was going to determine if the Democrats had the potential to win back Congress and the White House. President Joe Biden barely won the district in 2020 and Republicans are starting to take a hold of the Long Island communities.

But I guess, Pilip is too MAGA for New York. 

Democrats’ takeover of a GOP-held swing seat at once narrows Republicans’ already slim majority in the House, and provides a much-needed jolt of momentum for the party in the White House.

“Getting a win in a tough special election in a district that was trending red is a big boost and shows Democrats continue to defy expectations,” said Eric Koch, a spokesperson for Battleground New York, a progressive coalition fighting to help Democrats win the five Empire State House seats that Biden carried in 2020.

Suozzi’s victory suggests that there is a playbook for Democrats in swing seats struggling to overcome Biden’s unpopularity and frustration over the influx of asylum-seekers and other migrants that has occurred on Biden’s watch.

At least they can do Cameo shoutouts!

Suozzi affirmed his commitment to border security in two TV ads, and in the final days of the campaign, slammed Pilip for opposing a bipartisan Senate deal to shore up the border after Trump warned that it would benefit Biden. What’s more, Suozzi and his allies were apparently able to get the latter point across without the benefit of advertising and direct mail, since they decided that there was too little time to make it a worthy topic for paid communication.

“Trump handed Suozzi a gift, while Suozzi was in a defensive crouch on immigration,” said Larry Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. “He was able to flip the script a little bit and say: ‘See, this is an example of what you would get if you elected another Republican.’”

At the same time, a defeat for Suozzi would have been doubly devastating for Democrats who went all in for him. Suozzi and the groups backing him jointly spent $13.5 million on TV advertising — about $6 million than their Republican counterparts.

Battleground New York knocked on 100,000 doors for Suozzi in just over a month’s time, securing 10,000 commitments to vote for Suozzi.