Democrat Tom Suozzi has been declared the winner in the special election for New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which was represented by the disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R).
The New York Times has more:
Tom Suozzi, a former Democratic congressman, won a closely watched special House election in New York on Tuesday, narrowing the Republican majority in Washington and offering his party a potential playbook to run in key suburban swing areas in November.
His larger than expected victory in the Queens and Long Island district avenged a year of humiliation unleashed by the seat’s former occupant, George Santos, and stanched a trend that had seen Republicans capture nearly every major election on Long Island since 2021.
Mr. Suozzi, 61, fended off the Republican nominee, Mazi Pilip, in a race that became an expensive preview of many of the fights expected to dominate November’s general election, especially over the influx of migrants at the border and in New York City.
A well-known centrist, Mr. Suozzi distanced himself from his party, calling for harsher policies at the border and vowing to work with Republicans to fix a broken immigration system. Polls suggested the independent approach helped cut into Ms. Pilip’s advantage on the issue, as Democratic super PACs deluged her with ads attacking her as anti-abortion.
Last year, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to expel the New York Republican from office following several scandals and a damaging House Ethics report. (RELATED: House Votes To Expel George Santos)
The House Ethics report said there was clear evidence Santos committed serious crimes and said the New York Republican “blatantly stole from his campaign” and “deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit.”
The House of Representatives voted 311-114-2 to expel the Santos with 105 Republicans joining almost all Democrats.
Santos became the sixth member of Congress to be expelled in its history.
Santos faces 23 federal counts related to campaign finance, wire fraud and other allegations, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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