The race is on between Mazi Pilip and Tom Suozzi to replace former Congressman George Santos. The special election is set for Tuesday, February 13, In New York state. The party chairmen choose the candidates to run in a special election to fill out the term of the vacant seat.
Santos was the sixth member of Congress expelled from the House and the first Republican ever to be expelled. Following his indictment on criminal fraud charges, the House Ethics Committee released a report that found Santos apparently broke a number of federal laws in his 2022 campaign.
Pilip is an enrolled Democrat who was tapped by the Republican Party chairmen in Nassau and Queens counties to replace Santos. She said she would caucus with the Republicans as a Democrat until someone requests that she officially change her enrollment. Pilip has also been endorsed by the state Conservative party.
“Being a Democrat is just a piece of paper and I can switch anytime. I’m ready. I told the party leaders I’m ready to switch it,” Pilip told The Jewish Press. “I share my values with the Republican party. I stand for what the Republican party is standing for. Of course, I’m going to stand with the Republican party. The Democratic party left me and many others. They are promoting extreme politics that doesn’t go with my values. The Republican party is the only party that goes with my values.”
There are currently four Black Republicans in the House of Representatives, all men. If elected, Pilip would be the only Black Republican woman in the current Congress and the first Black Jew ever to serve on Capitol Hill. Pilip was born in a small Ethiopian town. Under Operation Solomon, on May 24, 1991, at age 12, she was one of 14,000 Ethiopian Jews who were safely airlifted to Israel. She said she settled in Haifa and joined the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] at age 18, serving in the Paratroopers Brigade [Tzanchanim] as a gunsmith with the paratrooper unit.
Pilip has three sisters, all of whom live in Israel. One is a detective.
Her opponent couldn’t be more different than Pilip.
Suozzi has been a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat since the day he could register to vote. His family were officeholders and all were Democrats. He abides by Democratic principles on every issue even as those positions evolve with the party standard-bearers.
He previously held the seat vacated by George Santos. Now Suozzi wants another chance at regaining his congressional seat. Suozzi left Congress to pursue his second failed attempt as a gubernatorial candidate. The first time was against Eliot Spitzer, receiving only 18 percent of the vote. In 2022 he tried to unseat Governor Kathy Hochul, receiving only 13 percent of the vote in a three-way primary.
Solidarity with Israel, in response to the October 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack, is a top priority for voters in the third Congressional district. Both Suozzi and Pilip are staunch supporters of Israel. The most important issue facing voters in the Third Congressional District appears to be the Israel-Hamas war. In December, Suozzi traveled to Israel to show his solidarity with the Jewish state. He met with the parents of Plainview resident Omer Nuetra, a hostage held by Hamas in Gaza.
Nuetra graduated from the Solomon Schechter school and went to Israel to join the IDF when he was 18 years old; he celebrated his 22nd birthday while in captivity.
Suozzi told The Jewish Press he would not be in Israel if he were not running for office.
“I probably would not be in Israel today. My wife wouldn’t want me to do it. She didn’t want me to do this because she is concerned about how dangerous it is,” Suozzi said. “I thought it was important as a leader that I send a very clear message that I’m in solidarity with Israel, as I always have been. I’ve been to Israel several times in the past and I’m sure I will be again in the future.”
Suozzi continued to repeat that his three-day trip was about solidarity.
“I came to Israel because I wanted to demonstrate very clearly my solidarity with Israel and with the Jewish people. I wanted to learn more on the ground and listen to what people had to say here. There’s like a fog over everyone here.”
Having been a refugee in Israel, Pilip doesn’t feel she needs to demonstrate or emphasize that personal connection to Israel. She said her voice is more effective within the district where she wants to win over the voters.
“The people who know me here know that I am not doing this race because I want to gain power in politics,” Pilip said. “I want to be the voice for the people. I care about our country. I care about my district. I want to improve the quality of life for people. I came to this country 17 years ago, and the mission remains the same, securing the future of our children. In the last two years I delivered a lot. I was able to achieve a lot for my [county legislative] district.”
While there were several trips to Israel by Democrats since October 7, Suozzi went to Israel after he accepted his party leaders’ designation for him to run. The trip was sponsored by the Democratic Majority for Israel, a lobbying organization promoting pro-Israel Democrats.
“I’m here with the National Co-chair of the Democratic Majority for Israel, Todd Richman. A good friend of mine for 30 years,” Suozzi said. “There are a lot of people trying to get here. It’s a big production to make it happen.”
Suozzi emphasized that he is a staunch supporter of Israel – “always has been, always will be.”
“I’m trying to learn a little bit more while I’m here as well. Hamas is a sophisticated, disciplined terrorist army that is set on destroying Israel and killing Jews,” Suozzi said. “It’s unbelievable how sophisticated the tunnels are. Six stories down, concrete reinforcement leads Hamas soldiers to the hospitals and other places where they use human shields. This is not about retribution. This is not about revenge. This is about stopping Hamas. My support for the state of Israel is unequivocal.”
Suozzi admits there is a split among Democrats when it comes to Israel.
“I think there are people in the Democratic Party that are not supportive. I think it is a small percentage. They just happen to get a lot of press,” Suozzi said. “People perceive the Republicans as having 98 percent of their members supporting Israel, people in Congress. The Democrats only have 90 percent or 95 percent support for Israel and people who get it, get a lot of press and are wrecking the brand.”
Suozzi then lobbed his criticism about why a Democrat is better than a Republican in the congressional seat.
“I make the argument that when you have a choice for a candidate right now, another pro-Israel Republican is not going to do much good for you,” Suozzi said. “What you need are strong, outspoken pro-Israel Democrats that will help to ensure that Israel and the support of Israel from the United States of America remains bipartisan.”
Suozzi seized on the foreign policy issue regarding countries not friendly towards America.
“I’ve always believed that the Chinese Communist party, Russia, Iran and others are trying to spread disinformation and are trying to agitate people to not like each other in the United States of America. They take both sides of an issue, puff it up and get people on both sides of an issue mad at each other. We have to be vigilant and understand what is going on. We’re divided in our country because of primaries where people are just trying to cleave their base,” Suozzi said. “I have my values. I’m a Democrat but I’m always going to try to work across party lines. I’ll work with anybody, quite frankly, if they are willing to try to solve problems and I’ll find common ground with you.”
As for fundraising, each candidate said they are not putting in their own money but instead looking for campaign funds from national political organizations and friends in the district and across the country.
Suozzi has been calling for debates with Pilip. He originally wanted three debates, and the two campaigns settled on one debate to take place at the Long Island television studio of News12 on Thursday, February 8. The special election will be held on Tuesday, February 13.
