Democratic candidate to replace George Santos supports “Don’t Say Gay” law

Voters in New York’s third congressional district could face a less than ideal choice to replace disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R-NY): a Democrat who voiced support for Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law and a Republican who has been convicted of participating in the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

A special election to fill the now-vacant seat after Santos was expelled from Congress last week will be held February 13. Democratic party bosses hoping to flip the swing district announced their candidate on Thursday: former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY).

Related:

Late night comedians ripped into George Santos after his expulsion

“He could be at Nordstrom using your credit card right now.”

“Tom Suozzi has a proven record of fighting for his constituents, fighting to safeguard our suburban way of life here on Long Island and Queens and always advocating for sensible solutions to the real challenges affecting everyday average Americans,” Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY) from Queens and state Democratic party chair Jay Jacobs said in a joint statement.

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As Politico notes, Suozzi represented the district for three terms before leaving Congress to run against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in the 2022 gubernatorial primary. During that race, one of the “sensible solutions” to “real challenges” Suozzi supported was Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education Act,” commonly known as “Don’t Say Gay.”  

During a 2022 appearance on WABC’s Bernie & Sid in the Morning, Suozzi described the anti-LGBTQ+ law, which initially banned discussion of sexuality and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade classrooms and was expanded this year to cover all grades, as “reasonable.”

“I think it’s a very reasonable law not to try to get kids in kindergarten to be talking about sex,” he said. “I wish it wouldn’t become such a hot button issue where people are just attacking each other – it’s just common sense.”

“I’m very much in favor of equal rights, I’m very much in favor of treating gay people fairly and treating them like the human beings they are,” Suozzi added.

In a follow-up statement to City & State New York, Suozzi doubled down on his support of the law in its 2022 form. “I absolutely do not support the Florida governor in most policies he supports. But I think it is reasonable that kids in kindergarten and first grade are not taught about their sexual orientation in school… Maybe this isn’t a politically correct position but it certainly seems like common sense to me,” he said, adding that “it’s the far left and the crazy right who are making this a divisive issue.”

As Business Insider reports, Souzzi has also been soft on abortion rights in the past, though according to The New York Times, on Monday Hochul got him “to agree to run as a full-throated defender of abortion rights.” During his time in Congress, Souzzi also reportedly failed to file transaction reports required under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act for three years, amounting to more than 300 violations and leading ethics watchdog group the Campaign Legal Center to file a formal ethics complaint.

While New York GOP leaders have yet to announce their pick for Santos’s seat, one Republican vying for the nomination is particularly notable. In May, Philip Sean Grillo filed to run against Santos. But this week, the former Queens Republican Party District Leader was convicted of one felony and three misdemeanors for his role in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Grillo was arrested on February 23, 2021, after being identified in media coverage of the riot, which sought to halt the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election. According to The New York Daily News, video from January 6 shows Grillo climbing into the Capitol building through a broken window. He also recorded video of himself in which he yelled, “We f—ing did it, you understand? We stormed the Capitol. We shut it down! We did it!”

Grillo testified that he had “no idea” Congress met in the building. He has not been sentenced yet, but as the Daily News notes, he faces up to 20 years in prison for obstructing an official proceeding.