NEW YORK NEWS
Nassau County Legislator Mazi Pilip has been chosen by Republicans to run in the special election replacing ousted former Rep. George Santos. Pilip, originally from Ethiopia, served as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces before moving to the U.S. The vacant congressional seat resulted from the House’s expulsion of Santos on December 1, following a House Ethics Committee report citing “substantial evidence” of repeated legal violations. Santos faced scrutiny and 13 federal charges, including wire fraud and money laundering. Pilip will compete against Democrat Tom Suozzi in the February 13, 2024, special election for New York’s 3rd congressional district. Suozzi, a former district representative, previously ran unsuccessfully in the 2022 Democratic primary for Governor Kathy Hochul.