New York GOP Picks Israeli Veteran to Run in Special Election for Santos’ Seat

After more than five hours of voting, members-elect of the 118th Congress leave the House Chamber after three ballots failed to elect a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

New York Republicans have selected Mazi Melesa Pilip, an Ethiopian-born Israeli immigrant who served in the Israel Defense Force, to run against Democrat Tom Suozzi in the special election for the seat vacated by George Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives.

Electing Ms. Pilip on Feb. 13, 2024, is critical for the GOP to hold on to its slim edge in the House, where 221 Republicans and 213 Democrats currently serve.

“Mazi Pilip is a formidable candidate with a unique biography: a former IDF paratrooper and mother of seven. Mazi’s incredible life stands in stark contrast to career politician Tom Suozzi,” Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), chair of the House GOP campaign arm, said in a statement on Thursday.

“With Mazi in Congress, Long Islanders will have a representative who stands up to the extreme [New York Gov. Kathy] Hochul-Suozzi agenda, making New York less safe and more expensive.”

The Dec. 1 expulsion of Mr. Santos in a 311–114 vote has stirred controversy on both sides of the aisle and brought on a confluence of highly unusual circumstances.

His removal from Congress was only the sixth such event in the history of the institution. Now, New York’s Third Congressional District voters face a special election in which they must choose between a Democrat ex-congressman and former mayor of a Long Island town, and an Ethiopian-born Israeli migrant who currently serves as a member of the Nassau County Legislature, representing Long Island’s 10^th District.

The contest upends conventional political notions. New York is a deep blue state, and many of its elections are shoo-ins for whatever candidate Democrats choose to put forward.

The GOP nominee comes from a very different background from that of most U.S. elected officials. By supporting Mr. Suozzi and opposing Ms. Pilip, Democrats, who like to think of themselves as the party of diversity, will be pushing for the defeat of a candidate with a demographic profile barely represented in U.S. politics and government—an Ethiopian-born woman of color who came of age in Israel.

In response to Ms. Pilip’s candidacy, Nassau County Democratic Committee Chairman Jay S. Jacobs painted her as an extreme “MAGA” Republican.

“The last thing the working folks of [Long Island] and Eastern Queens want is an unknown candidate who called George Santos a good friend, has voted in less than half the elections she was eligible to vote in, and is aligned with MAGA Republicans and the Conservative Party in their anti-choice, anti-gun safety extremism,” he said.

Activist Joshua Wong (R) meets Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and CECC Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) ahead of a hearing about the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Sept. 17, 2019. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Further complicating the race is the volatile, highly unpredictable Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.

Ms. Pilip already has the endorsement of the powerful Republican Jewish Coalition, and more pro-Israel organizations and voters are expected to get on board with her campaign in the days and weeks leading up to the election.

Some GOP figures have explicitly linked Pilip’s candidacy to the struggle against antisemitism.

Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement:

“Winning this battleground seat is critical to maintaining the GOP majority in the House of Representatives, and as antisemitism continues to spike across the country, electing candidates like Mazi Pilip is more important than ever.”