Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., giving a victory speech Tuesday night in a special election for a vacant House seat once held by former Republican Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December.
Chants of “You support genocide,” “Stop supporting genocide” and “Ceasefire now”were heard from protesters in the crowd holding Palestinian flags.
One demonstrator appeared to be knocked off the stage by security amid the chants, which come more than four months after Hamas terrorists launched their Oct. 7 attack against Israel, prompting military retaliation from Israeli forces.
The crowd then drowned out the pro-Palestinian protesters by shouting “Suozzi! Suozzi! Suozzi!”
DEMS FLIP SEAT AS SUOZZI WINS CRUCIAL SPECIAL CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION IN NEW YORK
Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, Democratic candidate for New York’s 3rd congressional district, speaks at his election night party Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Woodbury, N.Y. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Suozzi was projected Tuesday night to defeat Republican county lawmaker Mazi Pilip to win back his old job.
“I did call my opponent. I congratulated him,” Pilip told supporters at an election night gathering. “We are fighters. Yes, we lost. But it doesn’t mean we’re going to end here.”
Suozzi, speaking a few minutes later at his victory celebration, emphasized that “despite all the attacks and despite all the lies about Tom Suozzi and the squad, about Tom Suozzi being the godfather of the migrant crisis, about sanctuary Suozzi, despite the dirty tricks, despite the vaunted Nassau County Republican machine, we won.”
The Long Island district held for a decade by Democrats was flipped by Santos in the 2022 midterms. However, Santos was kicked out of the House less than a year into his tenure for lying about his background and being indicted for several financial crimes.
Chants of “You support genocide,” “Stop supporting genocide” and “Ceasefire now”were heard from protesters in the crowd holding Palestinian flags. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Suozzi, who represented the district for six years before running unsuccessfully for governor, repeatedly attempted to tie Pilip to Santos and former President Trump.
Pilip, an Ethiopian Jew who fled to Israel at age 12 to escape persecution and who later enlisted and served in the Israeli military before immigrating to the U.S., attempted to link Suozzi to President Biden and the illegal immigration crisis.
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With the GOP hanging on to a razor-thin majority in the House, national Republicans and Democrats poured big bucks into this race in suburban New York City where immigration and border security, crime, and abortion were viewed as the top issues.
When Suozzi is sworn in following Tuesday’s special election, the Republican majority in the House slips to 219-213.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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