Good morning. It’s Monday. Election Day is tomorrow for the congressional district that sent George Santos to Washington. We’ll look at the two candidates.
The special House election tomorrow pits Mazi Pilip, a little-known Nassau County legislator who is running as a Republican, against Tom Suozzi, a Democrat and former three-term congressman. Pilip — who was born in Ethiopia and served in the Israel Defense Forces before coming to the United States — is still registered as a Democrat. Early voting ended on Sunday.
The race has drawn wider attention as a proxy fight for many of the most important issues dividing Washington and the nation. The outcome could affect the strained dynamics in the House, where Republicans hold a 219-to-212 majority. Both parties are looking to this race for an early read on which issues, and which messages, might matter most in November.
I asked my colleague Nicholas Fandos, who has been covering the campaign, to talk about the issues and the candidates.
Why did the migrant crisis become a central issue in this campaign? The number of migrants arriving in New York City has actually been lower in the last few weeks — only 1,500 last week and the week before, less than half the number each week in December.
Yes, but the cumulative effect of the influx of migrants both at the Southern border and in New York City is weighing on voters in this district. The seat is centered in Nassau County, but it also includes a section of Queens where the city has placed a temporary migrant shelter.
Not only do many voters there see the national headlines about the border, but Mayor Eric Adams has made the influx a near daily story in the city with warnings about the drain on its finances. Last week, his police commissioner said a “wave of migrant crime” had “washed” over the city.
Republicans have spent millions of dollars on ads trying to pin the blame for the sense of disorder on President Biden — and on Suozzi as a longtime Biden supporter. Suozzi has pushed back and taken shots at Pilip on this issue, too.
In the debate last week, Pilip repeatedly accused Suozzi of siding with the “squad” in the House. Wasn’t his record when he was in Congress much more moderate, and isn’t that how he has presented himself this time around?
That’s right. Suozzi, 61, has been in politics on Long Island for three decades, and he has pretty much always presented himself as a moderate. He was certainly a loyal Democratic vote when he was in the House the first time, but he was also a leader of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and was perpetually hatching some scheme to work with Republicans on policy issues.
What Pilip is referring to is a cable news interview in 2019 in which Suozzi said he’d like to be an “honorary member” of the “squad.” Clearly the idea is to paint Suozzi as out of the mainstream by association.
But if you watch the whole clip, Suozzi was not endorsing the group’s politics — in fact, he pointed out that they often did not agree — but rather was defending its members at a time when former President Donald Trump had said they should “go back” to the countries they came from. (All but one were born in the United States.)
Pilip said during the debate that she wanted to set the record straight on abortion. Did she?
Kind of. Pilip told voters that she was personally against abortion and had chosen to have seven children. But she said she would not “force my own beliefs to any woman” or curtail their rights by voting for a national abortion ban.
Here’s what was less clear. When Suozzi and the debate moderator tried to press her to explain whether she would support reinstating the standards under Roe v. Wade, or how she would vote on other potential abortion restrictions short of a total ban, she filibustered and did not offer a clear reply.
Suozzi, by the way, said he would fight to enshrine abortion as a federal right again.
Pilip and Suozzi clashed when they were asked if they would support an assault weapons ban. How did that play out?
It was somewhat like the debate on abortion. Suozzi said he would support an assault weapons ban, but Pilip’s answer was harder to parse.
She said that she saw no reason “the average American or individual would have more powerful weapons than our cops” and that she would not support assault automatic weapons.
But automatic weapons are already illegal for civilians. The ongoing policy debate in Washington is whether or not to support semiautomatic assault weapons, like AR-15s, which are used in many mass shootings.
When Suozzi pointed that out, Pilip did not say if she supported a ban on those weapons.
What about presidential politics: Does Pilip support Trump?
This is another area of confusion.
She initially tried to keep some distance from Trump, saying she would not support him if he is convicted in any of the looming criminal trials he faces.
But more recently she told CNN that he was a “great president” and “didn’t commit any crime” when he tried to overturn the 2020 election.
What about the person who got us, and them, here — George Santos, who was ousted from the seat they’re now running for? Didn’t Pilip campaign for him when he ran in 2022?
She did, and Democrats have circulated a photo of them together. But to her credit, Pilip immediately denounced Santos when his lies began to unravel and called on him to resign more than a year ago. She has said supporting him was a mistake and promised to restore integrity to the district if elected.
Weather
Enjoy a partly sunny day in the high 40s. At night, rain is likely with temperatures dropping to the mid-30s.
ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING
Suspended today (Lincoln’s Birthday).
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Twins
Dear Diary:
I am in my early 30s and live in Brooklyn. I have a neighbor who I would guess is about twice my age. For the past few months, whenever I have seen her on the sidewalk I have complimented her on what she was wearing, and she has done the same for me.
One day, I stepped out of my building as she was walking past. We were wearing the same jeans, same Breton striped T-shirts, same dark sunglasses, even the same gold necklaces.
We stopped and pointed at each other.
“Good outfit,” I said.
“Good outfit,” she said.
Looking down, I noticed that she had on black flats. I had on sneakers.
“You should go back and change,” she said.
I took a picture of the two of us, and we parted ways.
A week later, I saw her again. She was with her partner.
“This is my twin,” she said, introducing me.
“I changed into the flats,” I said.
“Good,” she said. “I knew they’d look better.”
She pulled a picture of her daughter up on her phone. She was about my age and had the same blond hair.
“I guess I need to have my hair highlighted again,” I said, handing the phone back and twirling for my neighbor’s inspection.
“Yes,” she said, “I do think you need to add some streaks.”
— Grace Bowden
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here.
