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Who is Mazi Pilip? Trump ridicules ‘foolish’ GOP candidate after New York special election loss
The special House election to replace George Santos in New York's 3rd congressional district saw Republican Mazi Pilip, concede to Democrat Tom Suozzi.
The special House election on Tuesday to replace George Santos in New York's 3rd congressional district saw Republican candidate Mazi Pilip, a little-known Nassau County legislator, concede to Democratic former Rep. Tom Suozzi.
With his victory over competitor Pilip, Suozzi denied Republicans an opportunity to increase their already thin House of Representatives majority.
As Santos was removed from Congress last December due to fraud charges, Suozzi will be serving the remainder of his tenure.
Speaking to the supporters at her campaign headquarters, Pilip said: "We are fighters. Yes we lost, but it doesn't mean we're going to end here. I did call my opponent. I did congratulate him."
"You are hard workers who love this country. So let's keep it up and we're going to continue to fight because we are not going to give up. We're going to bring commonsense government, I promise you," she added.
After the win, Suozzi, a seasoned politician who held the position before resigning to make a failed bid for the governorship of New York state, also addressed his supporters and declared that "we won", despite the "dirty tricks" and attacks. He also thanked voters on X (formerly Twitter).
"We won this race — we, you, won this race because we addressed the issues and we found a way to bind our divisions," he said while being interrupted by demonstrators who shouted: "you're supporting genocide, stop supporting genocide!" and “ceasefire now! You support genocide!”
‘Donald Trump lost again tonight’: Biden's campaign reacts to Suozzi’s win
President Joe Biden’s campaign hailed Suozzi’s win as a victory for Biden’s domestic agenda and a "direct blow" for former President Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump lost again tonight,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement without any mention of mention Suozzi. “When Republicans run on Trump’s extreme agenda – even in a Republican-held seat – voters reject them.”
She also made a clear connection between Suozzi's victory and Republican attempts to obstruct the administration's national security supplemental bill's passage.
“Trump and the MAGA extremists in the House are already paying the political price for derailing a bipartisan deal to secure our borders and fix our broken immigration system.”
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Trump targets Mazi Pilip after election loss
On Tuesday, Republican frontrunner Trump took to Truth Social to target Pillip following her loss in the New York special election.
“Republicans just don’t learn," he stated before calling Pilip, who didn’t endorse him ahead of November presidential elections, a "very foolish woman."
"She would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America,” Trump further wrote.
Who is Mazi Pilip?
Pilip, who has a compelling personal narrative but a scant political background, was nominated by Republicans to fill the vacancy created by Santos. A Jewish, Ethiopian-born immigrant, and enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces before immigrating to the United States lawfully. She obtained US citizenship in 2009.
In 2021, Pilip won her first and only office on the part-time Nassau County Legislature . She is still a registered Democrat despite campaigning for the Republican party.
The 44-year-old Pilip has pledged to combat illegal immigration and lower the exorbitant cost of living. However, she ran a low-key campaign, making it challenging to determine her stance on Trump or on a number of proposed limitations on abortion.
Pilip, a Modern Orthodox Jewish mother of seven, is married to a doctor of Ukrainian descent.
