Albany, NY – Following Democrat Tom Suozzi’s convincing victory in a special election, few Republicans are eager to see the party make major structural or policy changes. Instead, some lawmakers blame Republican Mazi Pilip for running a bad campaign and point to a variety of factors, such as poor party financing and unfavorable weather, to explain away the loss. National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson sarcastically congratulated the Democrats for spending $15 million to win a district that President Joe Biden carried by over eight points in 2020, implying that outspending the GOP played a significant role in their victory.
While Democrats did outspend Republicans in the New York race, Long Island has shifted towards the right since Biden’s win in 2020, with the district swinging in favor of Santos by nearly eight points in 2022. Some Republican members expressed concerns about the party’s lack of clear wins to promote to voters and the consequences of infighting within the party. Others suggested that the party’s decision to expel Santos before a conviction was the original sin that led to their current predicament.
As the GOP took stock of Tuesday night’s election, some members seemed uninterested in second-guessing their tactical choices in contesting the special election. Senior GOP member Rep. Tom Cole emphasized the influence of weather and various other individual factors on the election outcome. Representative John Curtis, who is running for Senate in 2024, asserted that his vote to expel Santos was based on doing what he believed was right, regardless of the election outcome.
Following Santos’ expulsion from the House, a bipartisan ethics report released last year by the House Ethics Committee found substantial evidence of criminal wrongdoing, leading to a 311-114 vote to expel him in December, with 105 Republicans voting against him. The loss of his seat in the recent election is just one of many defeats the GOP has suffered since the midterms, including significant losses in states like Wisconsin and Kentucky.
Despite the defeat, some Republicans running in competitive districts remain undeterred. Republican Alison Esposito, who is challenging Rep. Pat Ryan in a lower Hudson Valley district in New York, highlighted immigration as an important issue. Others, including those who voted to expel Santos, argued that more distance from the ex-representative would ultimately benefit the party. Representative Andy Barr downplayed Tuesday’s results, attributing them to lingering “Santos taint” and claiming that they did not accurately represent the party’s prospects.