Democrat Tom Suozzi won George Santos’ former district, narrowing the House GOP’s majority.
Topline
Former President Donald Trump railed against GOP candidate Mazi Pilip after she lost a special election Tuesday in New York for George Santos’ former House seat, blaming her loss on not sufficiently embracing Trump and his “MAGA” supporters—though CNN suggested House Republicans and their inability to pass legislation could also be to blame.Key Facts
Democrat Tom Suozzi won the special election in New York’s Third District, earning 53.9% of votes as of 6 a.m. Eastern time.
Trump criticized Pilip as “very foolish” for not being more supportive of him on Truth Social, claiming she was “running in a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to ‘straddle the fence,’ when she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America.”
Pilip is a registered Democrat despite now holding local office as a Republican, and Politico notes the candidate distanced herself from Trump for much of the campaign before praising him in the days before the election—only revealing she voted for Trump in 2020 in a Feb. 10 New York Post interview, after previously keeping her vote private.
Trump’s MAGA supporters, which he claimed is a majority of the GOP, “STAYED HOME” because Pilip was not supportive enough of Trump, the ex-president claimed, “AND [the MAGA movement] ALWAYS WILL, UNLESS IT IS TREATED WITH THE RESPECT THAT IT DESERVES.
