NEW YORK—The two candidates in the closely watched congressional race in New York’s Third Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi and challenger Mike LiPetri, sparred over who is more attuned to the needs and interests of the district’s residents during a debate on the night of Oct. 8.
The debate ran for just under one hour, with each candidate allowed 90 seconds to respond to a question submitted in advance from someone in the district, and a shorter time to rebut what his opponent said.
The two candidates argued over issues including policing, climate concerns, the illegal immigration crisis, taxing of tips, housing on Long Island, and how to preserve Nassau County’s unique character.
Suozzi defeated Republican Mazi Pilip in February and became the district’s congressman through a special election to fill the void after Rep. George Santos’s expulsion from Congress in a corruption scandal.
During the Oct. 8 debate, Suozzi suggested that LiPetri was more concerned with proving his loyalty to former President Donald Trump than with accomplishing things for the communities that make up the Third District.
LiPetri, a former New York state assemblyman, suggested that Suozzi has catered to ideologically driven interests within his party, from “defund the police” to the pro-Hamas and anti-Israel factions.
The Republican challenger criticized Suozzi’s record, noting that this year, the congressman voted against the bipartisan End the Border Catastrophe Act and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which LiPetri said would have prevented illegal immigrants from voting in elections.
“He raised our taxes by $200 million, backstabbed the police, and betrayed the Jewish community when he wanted to be an honorary member of The Squad,” LiPetri said of Suozzi.
Meanwhile, Suozzi said it was time to heal the bipartisan divide.
Contrasting Approaches
At a time when large swaths of the country are grappling with major storms and their aftermath, Suozzi said he had bipartisan support and the endorsement of every important environmental organization.“The bottom line is that climate change is very, very real, we see it in all these storms happening more and more often. That’s why I’ve been endorsed by every major environmental group, because I’ve supported the projects necessary to deal with climate change,” Suozzi said.
In making his case, he highlighted his previous record as a Third District representative from 2017 to 2023, before attempting to run for governor after Andrew Cuomo’s resignation.
“People talk about infrastructure for decades, but we finally got it done in 2021 and 2022. And brought in millions of dollars into this region to try and address coastal resiliency,” Suozzi said.
LiPetri contrasted the approach of Suozzi, which he called a “top-down” strategy relying heavily on federal intervention, with what he characterized as his own locally rooted approach to climate and environmental issues.
He called for inspections and upgrading of lead pipe infrastructure in Nassau County and the prevention of saltwater intrusions and flooding.
“[Suozzi] is coming with this top-down government control,” LiPetri said. “I’m going to be working with the mayors, working with the towns, talking about the issues, what they need, organic bottom-up solutions.”
Fiscal Probity
On fiscal issues, LiPetri accused Suozzi of raising taxes by $200 million and giving himself a limited pay raise.LiPetri suggested Suozzi was aligned with the fiscal policies of Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, who proposes to tax unrealized capital gains, a policy that LiPetri called “crazy.”
Suozzi dismissed his opponent’s characterizations, saying that during his last term in Congress, he “led the effort” to restore tax deductions.
According to Suozzi, he helped to pass state and local tax deductions in the House no fewer than three times, but they failed to clear the Senate. This was partly a result of a lack of interest on the part of Republicans, he said.
Suozzi also pushed back against LiPetri’s suggestion that he was an outsider who pushed development recklessly without regard for the idiosyncratic character of Nassau County as a prosperous suburban community.
“We need to keep 99 percent of Long Island the same way it is now—single-family homes, parks, beaches, open spaces—but we need to focus on developing our downtown areas around our train stations,” he said.
Crime and the Border
LiPetri also challenged his opponent on crime and illegal immigration, repeatedly contrasting his record with that of Suozzi.LiPetri introduced legislation to criminalize “water-dousing” attacks on police officers, while Suozzi voted in favor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which makes it easier to prosecute police officers for alleged misconduct. LePetri said the act “betrayed police officers” and made it much harder for them to do their jobs with the threat of civil litigation hanging over them.
“It allows police officers to be personally sued for conduct in the line of duty. As your congressman, I want to make sure we’re doubling down on criminals,” LiPetri said.
LiPetri added that he favored the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing a police officer.
Suozzi repeatedly highlighted the endorsement he had received from the Nassau County police organizations.
“It’s not because of a deal, it’s because I’ve always stood with law enforcement,” he said.
On the related issue of illegal immigration and border policy, Suozzi said that while in Congress previously, he had opposed allowing asylum applications outside of ports of entry. Thanks to an executive order on this issue, the number of applications went down, he said.
Suozzi said he had worked on the immigration issue directly with conservative Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), a fact that he suggested illustrated his bipartisan instincts.
LiPetri pointed out that Suozzi voted against the SAVE Act, which Rep. Luttrell supported.
If elected, LiPetri promised that he would help to establish a fully funded biometric entry system at the border, reinstate a “stay-in-Mexico” policy for asylum seekers, and end the policy of “catch and release,” which he said Suozzi had helped to codify.
LiPetri also vowed to support mass deportations to ease the burden on social services and reduce the number of criminals on U.S. streets.
