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Tom Suozzi is taking over the seat from Republican George Santos

Photo: Eduardo Munoz / REUTERS

After a special election in a constituency in New York, the thin majority of Republicans in the US House of Representatives has shrunk further. Democrat Tom Suozzi won the formerly Republican seat, according to a projection from Edison Research.

Suozzi had held the seat for three terms before resigning to run, unsuccessfully, for governor. He now defeated Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian-born Republican district representative. The district includes a small portion of New York City and some of its eastern suburbs.

In his campaign, Suozzi, a moderate Democrat, leaned on some Republican themes. For example, he called for a tougher US border policy and a reversal of New York laws that make it more difficult for judges to take criminal suspects into custody.

Important victory for the Democrats

The special election was necessary because the House of Representatives had expelled Republican George Santos. He had spread numerous lies in his biography and had been charged with fraud. He has pleaded not guilty. This means that the Republicans in the House of Representatives now have a majority of 219 votes to 213.

Santos is only the sixth lawmaker ever to be expelled from the House of Representatives. With the expulsion, Santos finds himself in remarkable company: three of the previous expulsions from parliament were justified by disloyalty during the US Civil War. The other two followed after deputies were convicted of crimes in federal courts.

In his speech after his victory, Suozzi emphasized the importance of cross-party cooperation. »There are divisions in our country where people can't even talk to each other. All they can do is yell at each other,” he said. »That is not the answer to the problems we have in our country. The answer is to try to bring people together and find common ground.«

Suozzi's victory reinforces Democrats' belief that they can do well in the country's suburban communities. This is hugely important to the party's efforts to regain control of the US House of Representatives.

czl/Reuters/AP