Former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D) is returning to Congress after proving victorious in the special election in New York’s 3rd district to replace former Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from the legislative body in disgrace late last year after a historic vote.
Suozzi, 61, defeated Republican Mazi Pilip in Tuesday’s election, cutting the razor-thin majority that Republicans have in the House of Representatives by one additional seat; currently, it stands at 219–213, with three vacancies.
The Democrat was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 and reelected in 2018 and 2020; he retired from Congress to run for the Democratic nomination for Governor of New York in 2022, losing to incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul. Suozzi later announced on October 2023 that he would run for his old congressional seat again in 2024.
Suozzi could be sworn into Congress on Thursday; if this does not take place on that day, it may be necessary for the Democrat to wait until after the House takes an extended recess for the President’s Day holiday.
Santos, 34, grew into infamy after being elected to Congress in 2022 – filling Suozzi’s old seat – after it was revealed that many of the statements he made during his campaign were false, including claims that he was a rich Wall Street investor with a vast real estate portfolio and had been a star volleyball player in college.
Following an investigation and the filing of federal criminal charges against Santos – which included accusations of embezzling contributions from supporters, fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits, and lying in disclosures to the House of Representatives – Santos was expelled from Congress by a House vote of 311–114 on December 1, 2023.
