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Who Would You Rather Represent New York's 3rd District In Congress?
- Mazi Melesa Pilip (R)
- Tom Suozzi (D)
- Someone else
A spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee told the outlet that party officials in Nassau County and Queens had picked Pilip for the 3rd District race.
A formal announcement was expected on Friday, Dec. 15.
Pilip immigrated from Ethiopia to Israel as a refugee when she was 12 years old. She later served as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
She earned her master’s degree in diplomacy and security at Tel Aviv University, where she met her future husband, Adalbert Pilip, an American-Ukrainian-Jewish medical student.
The couple later settled on Long Island, in Great Neck.
In November 2021, Pilip was elected to the Nassau County Legislature’s 10th District, defeating four-term incumbent Ellen Birnbaum by seven percentage points. She was re-elected in November 2023 by a 20-point margin.
Her expected nomination raised some eyebrows after Politico reported that she has been registered as a Democrat since 2012.
She has no intention to change her party affiliation, a spokesperson for Nassau County Republicans told ABC7.
The special election to fill the 3rd District seat – which represents parts of Nassau County and Queens – will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024.
Pilip will face Democrat and former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, who previously held the 3rd District seat for six years before resigning from Congress in 2022 to run for the Democratic nomination for New York Governor.
He ultimately lost to current Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The 3rd District is home to some 771,000 constituents, all of whom now find themselves without a voice in the House after Santos was ousted in a historic vote on Friday, Dec. 1.
His expulsion came on the heels of a damning House Ethics Committee report that found “substantial evidence” that he had committed crimes.
Santos is facing 23 federal criminal counts, including identity theft, wire fraud, money laundering, and lying to Congress.
He has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is scheduled to stand trial in September 2024.
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Click here for the full report from NBC News.
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