Tom Suozzi (D) and Mazi Pilip (R) are running in a special election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District on Feb. 13, 2024. The election was called after members of the U.S. House expelled former-Rep. George Santos (R) on Dec. 1, 2023.
Suozzi represented an earlier version of the district from 2017 to 2023 and ran for governor in the 2022 Democratic primary. Pilip has served in the Nassau County Legislature since 2021. Party leaders selected both candidates because this is a special election rather than holding primaries.
Local political analysts say that support for Israel is likely to be an issue in the race, with both Suozzi and Pilip saying they are strong supporters of the country. Hofstra University professor Lawrence Levy said the issue could affect turnout for Suozzi: “There’s not an inch of daylight between Suozzi and Pilip on support for Israel…but the Democratic Party is seeing younger voters at odds with Israel.” In an interview with Politico, Suozzi said Democrats who opposed U.S. aid to Israel were not informed on the issue: “They don’t understand what a serious threat this is to not only Israel and Jews throughout the world, but to America and our allies. They’re just not educated about the issues.”
