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Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The New York GOP has nominated Ethiopian-born Israeli Defense Forces paratrooper Mazi Melesa Pilip to run in the special election to fill the seat left vacant when Rep. George Santos' became just the sixth member of Congress to be expelled. Pilip will face former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi for the seat in the state's 3rd Congressional District.
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The move is considered a gamble by some Republicans on Long Island, where Pilip, 44, was elected to the Nassau County legislature in 2021 and was re-elected last month. She has next to no experience raising money, no relationships with people outside her affluent Manhattan suburb, and is registered as a Democrat, according to The New York Times.
But Republican party officials believe Pilip, a mother of 7 and a strong supporter of Israel in its current battle with Hamas, can be a breakout star prior to the Feb. 13th election.
"She is the American success story," Peter King, a former New York Republican congressman who was involved in nominating Pilip, said. "Some people have superstar capacity. She walks into the room, people notice her, they listen to her."
Santos was expelled from Congress last week after an Ethics Committee report concluded that he "sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit."
Santos pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including fraud allegations related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, the misuse of campaign funds and lying on House disclosure reports about his personal finances.
The race between Pilip and Suozzi is unique in that it effectively pits two Democrats against each other, but each with far different political and philosophical views, and one, Pilip, running as a Republican candidate. But the GOP is banking on Pilip's credentials as a mother and supporter of Israel to play to the party's favor in the upcoming election.
"Mazi's incredible life stands in stark contrast to career politician Tom Suozzi," North Carolina Rep. and House GOP campaign arm Richard Hudson said in a statement Thursday. "With Mazi in Congress, Long Islanders will have a representative who stands up to the extreme Hochul-Suozzi agenda, making New York less safe and more expensive."
Democrats are banking on the fallout from Santos' scandals will threaten Republican momentum. In a statement Thursday, Washington Rep. and chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm, Suzan DelBene, described Pilip as "serial fraudster George Santos' close friend" and a "MAGA extremist."
The largest Republican-aligned Jewish political organization, The Republican Jewish Coalition, endorsed Pilip's candidacy on Thursday.
"Winning this battleground seat is critical to maintaining the GOP majority in the House of Representatives, and, as antisemitism continues to spike across the country, electing candidates like Mazi Pilip is more important than ever," coalition CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement.
Santos' seat will take on added importance next year in which Republicans are already operating with a paper-thin edge in the House that will get even smaller when former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy leaves at the end of December.
