Special elections established to fill George Santos’ former seat in the House in February

NEW YORK — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has set Feb. 13 as the date for a special election to fill George Santos’ seat in Congress following his ouster from the U.S. House of Representatives last week.

“As governor, I have a solemn responsibility to call a special election to ensure that the voters of Long Island and Queens once again have representation in Congress,” Hochul said in a post on X.

Members of Congress voted to expel Santos on Friday following an ethics investigation and a federal indictment accusing him of stealing from his campaign and lying before the legislative body. The final vote was 311-114.

Santos, a legislator in his first term, is the sixth member of the House of Representatives expelled in its history.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, requested that the secretary alert New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., of the expulsion.

Santos previously represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes part of the district of Queens and Nassau County on Long Island.

For Democrats, the election will be a test of the party’s ability to flip New York City districts seen as vital to their plans to retake control. Republicans are entering the race with great momentum in the city’s suburbs and will fight to hold the district as they look to maintain their slim majority in the House.

Candidates in the special election will be chosen by party leaders, not voters.

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi has emerged as Democrats’ likely front-runner. Suozzi, 61, previously represented the district for six years, which would help with name recognition. It could mean he has the organizational skills to quickly launch a campaign, vital attributes in a narrowly focused election in which voters will have little time to choose his representative.

The Democrat announced a campaign for the seat before Santos was ousted and has been pushing for a series of endorsements from local politicians and labor groups after the district became vacant.

Also competing for the Democratic nomination is former state senator Anna Kaplan, who in recent days criticized Suozzi’s record and sought to focus the special election on the approval of federal legislation guaranteeing the right to abortion.

On the Republican side, potential names include retired police detective Mike Sapraicone, Air Force veteran Kellen Curry and Nassau County legislator Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian-born Jewish woman who served in the Israeli military.

Sapraicone, who is also the founder of a private security company, said he was interviewed by county Republicans who will select the candidate, and the panel questioned him about his political positions, his ability to raise funds and quickly launch a campaign.

Like Suozzi, Sapraicone launched his campaign before Santos was ousted and has already begun fundraising, and his campaign coffers include $300,000 of his own money, he said.

“For us to hold the House and retain the majority is very important,” Sapraicone said. “It’s very important for New York to set the tone here in February.”

Democrats want to take back at least five House seats in New York next year, with Santos’ seat a possible early indicator of their chances in November.

The party has devoted significant financial and organizational resources to the state, after a series of losses last year in the New York City suburbs helped Republicans take control of the House and drew sharp criticism from Democrats in the state.

President Joe Biden won the district in 2020, but Republicans have made significant electoral gains on Long Island in recent years as moderate suburban voters have gravitated toward the GOP.

In the latest sign of Republican strength on Long Island, the GOP won several local elections on the island last month, including races in the now-vacant district.