New York: Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi winning back his Long Island House seat could provide a blueprint for Democrat Joe Biden’s reelection campaign heading into November, demonstrating his party’s strength in competitive suburban territory that also happened to be where Donald Trump grew up.
But the good news followed several rough days for the White House, which watched House Republicans vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkason Tuesday. That followed a special counsel’s conclusion that characterized Biden’s memory as “faulty,” “poor” and having “significant limitations,” though also saying charges weren’t warranted against the president for mishandling classified documents.
The Democratic former congressman’s emphatic victory came in a special election where heavy snowfall may have affected turnout and with nearly nine months still to go in the presidential race. He made immigration a centerpiece of his campaign, playing political hardball with an issue that had helped the GOP win in previous cycles.
He also called Biden “old.”
Suozzi easily topped Mazi Pilip to replace expelled former Republican New York Rep. George Santos, narrowing the GOP House majority to 219-213. The district backed Biden by 8 points in 2020 but voted for Santos during 2022’s midterm election — when Republicans fared better across New York than expected by campaigning on getting tough on immigration and combating crime rates that had risen in some areas.
After Santos’ ouster, the special election to replace him was seen as a dead-heat — though Suozzi was the more familiar figure. He won the seat in 2016 and was reelected twice before retiring in 2020 and losing in the Democratic primary to incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul.
A surge of migrants arriving to large, Democrat-run cities, including New York, has turned security along the U.S.-Mexico border into an especially tricky issue for Biden’s party across the country. Queens is home to one of New York City’s few large-scale tent housing facilities for migrants — and yet Suozzi took the issue head on.
