The razor-thin GOP lead in the House dropped even further as Democrat Tom Suozzi defeated Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip in the previous week’s recent election for New York’s third congressional district.
The former GOP representative George Santos was removed from Congress in December by a vote of 311 to 114, with 105 Republicans voting with almost every House Democrat to eliminate the contentious figure from the lower house. This action set off the special election.
Furthermore, the Republicans who supported Santos’ removal indicated they still stand by their votes despite Suozzi flipping the seat blue.
Republican representative for a swing district centered on the suburbs north of New York City, Rep. Mike Lawler, informed Politico that Santos is the reason the GOP lost.
Lawler informed the site, “George Santos reduced the Republican majority with his actions; I didn’t reduce it.” “I apologize, but in the halls of Congress, there must be standards. I therefore don’t regret casting my vote to remove George Santos.”
He wasn’t suitable to serve. “There are occasions when these choices escape politics,” the lawmaker continued.
Santos is accused of laundering funds, theft of identities, and wire fraud on 23 felony counts.
Suozzi was defeated by Pilip thanks to his brand on Long Island and his capability to disassociate himself from President Joe Biden’s declining approval ratings, despite Republican attempts in New York and Washington to link him to the country’s worsening migration crisis.
Although Pilip was a less popular member of the Nassau County Legislature in the district, she received criticism from certain Republicans, especially former President Donald Trump, for failing to inspire his MAGA constituency to support her.
Politico was informed by Utah Representative John Curtis, who is competing for the state’s empty Senate seat, that he stands by his decision to dismiss Santos from the house.
“I did not judge my vote on how the election turned out. It was motivated by what I believed to be the proper course of action,” he told the publication. “If this was the correct thing to choose, then the seat does not matter.”
Republicans who disagree with Santos’ removal include Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Collins of Georgia.
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