AP Photograph/Mary Altaffer

Tom Suozzi defeated Mazi Pilip in the special election to exchange disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) in New York’s 1/3 congressional district on Tuesday night time.

The race was referred to as via the Associated Press quickly after 10 p.m. ET. As of 1: a.m., Suozzi led fifty three.9% to 46.1% with ninety three% of the votes counted.

When Suozzi is sworn in, Democrats will hold 213 seats to the Republicans’ 219. There are now three outstanding vacancies within the decrease chamber.

Suozzi prior to now held the seat for three consecutive phrases, however declined to run for reelection in 2022. As a substitute, he established an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination for governor of New York. The former and now future congressman received on Tuesday evening by means of vastly outperforming the exhibiting via Democratic candidate Robert Zimmerman in 2022. Zimmerman received the Queens part of the district with the aid of a mere four factors, but Suozzi is besting Filip by using a whopping 24 factors. Suozzi also holds a six-point lead in more conservative Nassau County, which Santos gained by means of 10 factors and with it, the district.

Pilip, a registered Democrat who on the other hand gained the Republican nomination, brought a novel story to the race. An Ethiopian-born Jew, Pilip immigrated to Israel at the age of 12 and served within the Israel Safety Forces. After shifting to the U.S., she ran for a seat within the Nassau County Legislature and defeated a Democratic incumbent in 2021. Pilip won reelection closing year.

All over a debate closing week, Pilip generated confusion about her stance on abortion when she stated that “each woman should have the selection to make that call” earlier than declaring herself “pro-lifestyles.”

The congressional seat changed into vacant in December when the House of Representatives expelled Santos, who’s under federal legal indictment for fraud. Quickly after being elected in 2022, Santos was found to have fabricated a lot of his lifestyles story, which integrated false claims about the place he attended faculty, the place he labored, and being Jewish.

The put up Democrat Tom Suozzi Flips Congressional Seat Vacated by means of George Santos first regarded on Mediaite.