Democrats wrested George Santos' seat from Republicans on Tuesday, according to US media reports.
Former Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi regained the seat he left behind when he ran in the 2020 New York gubernatorial primary.
The race for New York's 3rd District seat has been presented by both parties as a laboratory for testing political strategies ahead of the November election, with messages on immigration, abortion and public safety that they hope will appeal to suburban voters.
The victory reduces the slim Republican majority in the House and gives Democrats a much-needed victory in New York City's Long Island suburbs, where the GOP has shown surprising strength in recent elections.
His victory will give Democrats confidence that they can do better in suburban communities across the country, which will be critical to the party's efforts to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives and re-elect President Joe Biden.
However, projections for November could be complicated because turnout, already expected to be low, could be affected by a storm that dumped several inches of snow on the county on Election Day. Both campaigns gave voters free rides to the polls, while snow plows cleared wet mud from roads.
Santos isn't in the race, but that's a campaign issue
Jorge Santos was kicked out of the House of Representatives in December, midway through his first term, after winning a district that had been heavily Democratic, in part, falsely portraying himself as a success story: the son of working-class immigrants. Rich Wall Street dealmaker.
But Santos' life stories were later exposed as fabrications, and he was indicted on several charges, including allegations that he stole money from Republican donors, to which he pleaded not guilty.
During the special election campaign, Suozzi argued that he had not discovered Santos' history when he first ran in 2020, saying at the time that he was not a real candidate, had not raised any money and was rarely seen on the campaign trail.
“I only saw him once on Zoom and he was a strange man,” Suozzi told PIX 11 News.
Instead, Philip, the Republican candidate who backed Santos in 2022, now says he doesn't know him well and that he's one of those who lied.
“We didn't know anything about him, and when we found out he was lying, I was one of the first people to tell him to resign,” the Republican said.
“I'm not going to resign”: House Ethics Committee to investigate George Santos
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