Democrats flip George Santos’ Congressional seat in special election

Republicans must have known that they were facing an uphill battle in the special Congressional election to replace serial liar George Santos. When the worst snowstorm in two years hit the New York metropolitan area on election morning, the party hired snowplows to clear the streets in areas where they expected favorable turnout.

It didn’t work.

Related:

Lauren Boebert & Matt Gaetz have “never missed George Santos more”

Gaetz and Boebert were two of Santos’s allies when he was in the House.

Democrat Tom Suozzi, who once held the seat himself, pulled out a victory in the tightly contested race. He probably owes a lot of his success to Santos himself, a former drag queen who was expelled from Congress while facing nearly two dozen charges related to schemes to enrich himself.

Proving that he lacks any sense of shame, Santos was tweeting his take on the election results, blaming the loss on the party officials who chose nominee Mazi Pilip. Posting a photo of the officials, he thanked “these two gems for losing a seat in the house today.” Apparently, Santos didn’t have a photo of himself handy.

Dive deeper every day

Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues

Daily

Weekly

Good News

The inability of the GOP to vet Santos was instrumental in his election in 2022, even though some leaders had their doubts about him. Voters made the party pay the penalty for their carelessness tonight.

While Democrats chose a veteran to run for the seat, Republicans opted for a relative newcomer in Pilip, a state legislator. In a nod to Santos, Pilip inflated her own resume, claiming she was a paratrooper in the Israeli Defense Force. As it turns out, she merely maintained weapons in the paratroopers’ brigade.

The GOP’s defeat in the Long Island suburbs is not a good sign for the party. Despite President Joe Biden’s supposed unpopularity because of immigration and inflation, and in a special election that generally favors Republican turnout, the party lost a seat, narrowing its hold in the House even further.

While it’s a risk to read too much into any one race, another sign offered Democrats some hope for the November election. In a special election for a state house seat in Pennsylvania, the Democrat won an open seat in a district outside of Philadelphia, exactly the kind of swing district that looms large in a tight presidential race.

November is still a long ways off, and a lot will happen between now and then. But Democrats do continue to surprise in elections, despite the gloom and doom predictions. They did better than expected in the 2022 midterms, which was supposed to be a Republican tidal wave. After tonight’s results, Republicans should be a little more worried about satisfying the general electorate and a lot less worried about placating the Trump base.