Tornado Alley (PROG)

[sortagreen]

It was a gerrymandered Trump voting area and had elected Santos in 2022.

National issues dominated the campaign, making Tuesday’s vote this year’s first high-profile test of the parties’ messages on abortion, the economy and, above all, immigration. Suozzi represented the area for six years previously and campaigned as a moderate who wanted to work across the aisle. But with New York City struggling to absorb more than 100,000 migrants arriving from the southern border, much of the campaign centered on what polling suggests is Democrats’ toughest issue.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2024/02/13/new-york-district-3-special-election-george-santos/

We win. Fuck that ahole.

Democrat Jim Prokopiak was also projected to win a Tuesday special election for a state House seat in Pennsylvania, building his party’s narrow edge in a chamber that until recently was deadlocked 101-101. He beat Candace Cabanas after tying her to Trump and what he called “extremists” in the GOP, echoing national Democrats’ 2024 message.

In New York, Suozzi’s victory capped a long list of Democratic wins in recent special elections, which have showcased the party’s ability to turn out its base and tap into anger at GOP-backed abortion restrictions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Democrats spent millions of dollars attacking Pilip’s “pro-life” stance even though she said she would not support a national ban on abortion.

The victory also validated Suozzi’s decision to invest heavily in countering the GOP on immigration, suggesting that Democrats in tight races can benefit from talking tougher on the border and highlighting Republicans’ abrupt abandonment of a bipartisan deal on the matter negotiated in Congress. Biden, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and other Democrats have similarly sought to go on offense on immigration by criticizing the deal’s failure.

The border could loom especially large this year in New York, a state with several battleground House races that will give it an outsize role in the fight for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Democratic leaders there have expressed deep frustration about the border situation, with New York City’s Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, at one point saying the influx of migrants will “destroy” the city.

Many voters — including Suozzi supporters — said Tuesday that they were concerned about the migrant situation in New York. But some suggested that the former congressman’s efforts to blunt Republican attacks had worked.

Maria Deluca said she had heard “a lot of negativity toward his stance on immigration” but decided she preferred moderation to Republicans’ hard line.

Suozzi, she said, would “protect us but also be fair to those who are seeking asylum.”

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2024/02/13/new-york-district-3-special-election-george-santos