Democrat Tom Suozzi won back his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday in a decisive victory over Republican challenger Mazi Pilip, according to election results from the Associated Press.
The race for the 3rd Congressional District, which spans part of eastern Queens through the north shore of Nassau County on Long Island, was largely viewed as a bellwether test ahead of November’s general election, where several contested congressional races in New York may help determine the balance of power in Congress.
The Associated Press declared Suozzi the winner shortly after 10 p.m.
Suozzi appears to have handily won the Queens portion of the district according to the city’s Board of Elections. With 99% of scanners reporting, Suozzi received nearly 62% of the vote in Queens to Pilip’s 38%.
Voters braved the largest snowstorm of this winter season to cast their ballots in the race to fill the seat of former Rep. George Santos, who admitted to lying to voters and was expelled from Congress following an ethics investigation in December. Santos still faces trial on 23 criminal charges, which he’s pleaded not guilty to.
Suozzi’s win is a major boon for Democrats who were seeking to wrest the seat away from the Republicans and weaken their teetering control of the House ahead of the November election. Once sworn in, Suozzi’s victory will narrow the margins from 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats in the House. A majority in the House is 218 votes.
At a celebration in Woodbury, Long Island on Tuesday night, Suozzi said his victory is a sign that Democrats can still make a persuasive case to voters in swing districts and suburbs, like those who turned out for him.
“This race was centered around immigration and the economy, much like the issues all across the country,” Suozzi told the crowd of supporters. “We won this race — you won this race — because we addressed the issues and we found a way to bind our divisions.”
The compressed campaign and…
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