- Written by Kayla Epstein
- BBC News, New York
Democrats are celebrating a victory in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Republican George Santos' ouster from Congress.
Tom Suozzi defeated Maji Pilip on Tuesday night, chipping away at House Republicans' already narrow majority.
Democrats said the results show they can take on Republicans on hot-button immigration issues.
Santos was fired in December last year on suspicion of fraud and corruption.
When most votes were counted, Suozzi had won 54% of the vote, compared to Pilip's 46%, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.
In the 3rd Congressional District, which stretches from New York City's Queens to the western suburbs of Long Island, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans.
Mr. Suozzi, who ran as a moderate, plans to run again this November after Mr. Santos' term ends.
In his victory speech, which was briefly interrupted by demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Suozzi spoke of mending political differences.
He also criticized Republicans who control the House, saying, “Let's send a message to our friends who are running Congress these days: Stop running around for Trump and start running the country.”
Pillip distanced herself from Trump for much of the campaign, but the former president said in a Truth Social post Tuesday night that she was a “very stupid woman” for not supporting Trump. Ta.
The election marks a return to Congress for Democrats, who previously served three terms in the House but instead opted to run for New York governor in 2022.
That bid failed, and voters replaced him in Congress with Santos.
Mr. Pillip, a state lawmaker with less name recognition than his rivals, made immigration a central part of his campaign.
She blamed Mr. Suozzi and his fellow Democrats for the wave of migrants pouring into New York City and the crisis unfolding at the southern border.
But Suozzi stressed the need to strengthen border policy, saying he had at times rebelled against his own party on the issue during his time in Congress.
Democrats said the race could serve as a roadmap to the U.S. general election in November.
“Like Suozzi, Democrats can and should go on the offensive at the border. Everywhere,” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut wrote on X.
This comes after a bipartisan Senate border security bill failed after Trump and his allies criticized it as insufficient.
Pilip, an Ethiopian-Israeli immigrant and an observant Jew, expressed unwavering support for Israel in a district with a large Jewish electorate.
But Mr. Suozzi also declared himself a staunch ally of Israel and claimed to balance out left-wing Democrats who want to reduce U.S. aid to Israel.
Suozzi brought up the issue of abortion to counter Pilip, a mother of seven who said she personally opposes abortion but would not force her beliefs on others. .
The result reduces the Republican House majority to 219-213. Three seats, including one held by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy until he resigned in December, remain vacant.
On Tuesday night, House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border crisis by just one vote.
George Santos was expelled from Congress in December.
