Tom Suozzi wins special election to fill seat in the wake of House's ouster of George Santos

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi defeated Republican Mazi Pilip in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the expulsion of Republican George Santos from the House of Representatives last year.

Santos was ousted from the House less than one year into his freshman term, when 105 Republicans joined 206 Democrats to vote in favor of expulsion. Two Democrats joined 112 Republicans in voting against expulsion. Two Democrats voted present.

Now, with Suozzi's special election victory, Democrats gain control of the seat.

"So who still thinks Republicans helping Democrats kick out Santos was a good idea?" GOP Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia tweeted.

Suozzi previously served as a House lawmaker from early 2017 until early 2023. He ran unsuccessfully in the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary in New York.

Pilip is a Nassau County legislator.

"Mazi was elected as the candidate of the Republican and Conservative parties to the Nassau County Legislature in 2021," according to maziforny.com. "The daughter of Orthodox Jewish parents, Mazi grew up in a rural village in Ethiopia that didn’t even have running water. At the age of 12, Mazi immigrated to Israel with her family as part of Operation Solomon and would later enter the Israel Defense Force, serving in the IDF's elite Paratrooper Brigade," the site states. "After defending Israel’s freedom and attending college, Mazi immigrated to the United States," the site also notes.

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