Republicans picked Nassau County legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip as their candidate for the upcoming special election to replace ousted congressional Rep. George Santos, according to an announcement Thursday from the head of the Nassau County GOP.
Pilip’s selection comes nearly two weeks after Gov. Kathy Hochul set the Feb. 13 special election date and follows several reports of Nassau and Queens County Republican leaders struggling to thoroughly check the background of any potential Santos successor.
“Pilip is an effective tax fighter who will prioritize public safety, economic recovery, border security and tax relief in Congress,” said Nassau County Republican Chair Joe Cairo, who was leading the selection process, in a statement.
“She will bring a fresh new perspective to Washington, starkly contrasting her from the candidate from the other political party,” he added, taking a swipe at her Democratic opponent, Tom Suozzi, a former congress member from the district.
Democrats immediately slammed the GOP’s choice of Pilip as their candidate.
“Time and again, the Republican Party desperately tried to expunge their own history of protecting a criminally-indicted liar at the expense of Northeast Queens and Long Island constituents,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement, referring to Santos, who was ousted from Congress over a series of ethical and potentially criminal violations.
“Now, Long Island Republicans have chosen Mazi Melesa Pilip, serial fraudster George Santos’ close friend and MAGA extremist, to clean up their mess,” she continued. “Pilip and Republicans will be held accountable for their shameless record of propping up corruption and working against the best interest of constituents in New York’s Third Congressional District.”
Pilip, 44, was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to Israel in 1994 to escape religious persecution. She later served as a paratrooper with the Israeli Defense…
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