Northeast
NY race to replace George Santos may be test for Republicans looking to keep House in November
Ex-George Santos staffer weighs in on election to replace him
GOP strategist Naysa Woomer, whose work includes stints with expelled Rep. George Santos and former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration, spoke with Fox News Digital about the special election in New York’s 3rd Congressional district.
Early voting kicks off on Saturday for a suburban New York election that both Democrats and Republicans have been pouring millions of dollars into.
The race to replace expelled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., in the Empire State’s 3rd Congressional District is being watched as a potential bellwether for Republicans’ chance of keeping the House of Representatives next year.
It’s between Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip, a Nassau County official, and former Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who left his seat at the end of 2022 for an unsuccessful bid to primary Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“I think it’s anybody’s game at this point,” Naysa Woomer, Santos’ former communications director and a former aide to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, told Fox News Digital. “Even though Tom Suozzi was the former member that represented NY-3 for quite some time, but it’s still a new ballgame — especially with Mazi Pilip…she’s a local legislator. I think that could give her a real leg up, just having that name recognition but at a local level.”
NY REPUBLICANS TAP IDF VETERAN TO REPLACE SANTOS IN SPECIAL ELECTION
National Republicans and Democrats are watching the race between Nassau official Mazi Melesa Pilip and former Rep. Tom Suozzi. (Getty Images)
The race is shaping up as a test run of whether House Republicans can overcome a chaotic term fueled by having a thin but highly divided majority. Nationally, Democrats have seized on the dysfunction, while Republicans seized on issues like the high cost of living and the border crisis, which polls have shown as top of mind for voters.
Pilip told Fox News Digital in an interview that her race, if successful, could be a roadmap for Republicans to keep the House.
“This is a special election, but it’s going to also give us a picture for the November 2024 election. So it is very important. It is about saving the country, it is about common sense government,” Pilip said. “We can’t lose this election.”
Some of Pilip’s most vocal backers in Congress are the New York Republicans who led the charge to expel Santos, including Long Island Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., who told Fox News Digital he was confident Republicans would keep the seat.
GEORGE SANTOS IN DISCUSSIONS FOR POSSIBLE PLEA DEAL
“So there’s… four M’s as to how to win this election in NY-3 — message, money, manpower and, in this case, Mazi,” LaLota said. “We’re out front on the border, folks know that Republicans have common sense solutions that will help fix our border. The same on inflation — our economic policies… are the right things that provide the right solutions to the problems facing Long Island and Queens residents.”
But a Democratic operative familiar with the race suggested Suozzi, in addition to his attention to local issues, would have an edge with voters weary of what they see in the House GOP majority. That includes the many scandals Santos saw before being expelled over federal charges and a damning Ethics Committee report related to misuse of funds.
Rep. Nick Lalota, R-N.Y., is one of Pilip’s backers. (Getty Images)
“We are in a special election because the Republican Party repeatedly protected George Santos,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesperson Ellie Dougherty told Fox News Digital, noting House GOP leaders’ silence amid a small faction’s calls to boot him.
However, LaLota denied that Santos would be an anchor for Republicans.
“George Santos is a knucklehead. Republicans know it. Democrats know it. Independents know it. We’re not shy about acknowledging that reality,” LaLota said. “We have been very straightforward and honest about it, and because we Long Island Republicans led the charge to remove him, I think we have a tremendous amount of credibility with the electorate.”
‘SQUAD’ DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON ‘GENOCIDE’ ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ISRAEL
The Democratic operative said the left’s message in the last stretch would emphasize Suozzi’s decades of political experience and bipartisanship, while hammering Pilip as inexperienced and unvetted — a bid to tie her to Santos.
But Pilip refuted those accusations on Friday, telling Fox News Digital her background was extensively searched in the wake of Santos, and added she was “very proud” of her history as an Israeli-American immigrant and Israeli Defense Force soldier.
She also accused Suozzi of being a “career politician,” painting himself as a moderate while voting for progressive policies while in the House.
Republicans are trying to tie Suozzi to progressives and President Biden. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“Yes, he has the name recognition, but you know what, people remember him for his bad policies out there,” Pilip said.
The DCCC said of Pilip, “Mazi Pilip has nothing to say on issues that matter to voters. Even on immigration and border security, she only spews talking points her extreme Republican Party bosses give her… Meanwhile, Tom Suozzi has a long record of working with anyone to deliver for Nassau County and Queens.”
A spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee told Fox News Digital of the race, “Tom Suozzi and Joe Biden caused the migrant crisis that is wreaking havoc in New York, and voters have had enough. Mazi Pilip is a strong, formidable candidate who will stand up to Biden and stop the inflow of illegal migrants into New York.”
Fox News Digital tried several times to reach Suozzi’s campaign for comment but did not hear back.
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Massachusetts
20k customers without power in Revere, Winthrop areas
National Grid is reporting that roughly 20,000 customers are without power due to outages in the Winthrop and Revere areas.
The utility company’s live outages map shows that 10,753 customers are without power in the Revere area and 9,261 customers are without power in the Winthrop area as of 2:25 p.m. Saturday.
The Herald has reached out to National Grid for comment. The Herald has also reached out to Eversource for information regarding any outages in their service regions, where a Herald photographer has seen some outages. Eversource’s outage map did not display any major outages at 2:25 p.m.
This is a developing story.
New Hampshire
Downtown Shooting | How Much Income Makes Someone ‘Rich’ | Sex Sale Gone Bad On Facebook? Nearby News NH
CONCORD, NH — Here are the Top 10 most popular stories and posts from around New Hampshire Patch sites last week.
- Concord Police Investigating The Death Of A Young Child In The City’s South End Neighborhood: Update: Dakin Street was closed to traffic for several hours during an investigation of a child found dead at a duplex on Friday morning.
- Facebook Marketplace Cleaning Services Hire Or Sex Sale Gone Bad Leads To Stabbing In Manchester: Court docs: Frank Miller of Manchester and Kendra Gokey, a homeless woman, were arrested on first-degree assault and other charges Sunday.
- Man Shot During Dispute On South State Street In Downtown Concord: Video: Breaking: A man was shot in the leg Saturday during a dispute; cops have South State Street from Thompson to Concord closed to traffic.
- Fast Food Chain Closing Locations | Queen City Killing | Meth Distributor Pleads Guilty | More: Nearby News: Also: Best sandwich shop in NH; untimely death; crashes; knife attack indictments; firefighter injured in explosion released from hospital.
- After The Snow Sunday And Monday, More Is Coming To New Hampshire, Forecasters Say: After the storm that is expected to bring 8 to 12 inches of snow to the state, more snowstorm fronts are expected to arrive this week.
- 6 To 15 Inches Of Snow Heading To The Granite State Sunday Night; Wind Gusts Up To 45 mph: Forecasters: Heavy, blinding snow is expected in central and southern New Hampshire, as well as the Seacoast, from Sunday night to Monday morning.
- National Fast Food Chain To Close Hundreds Of Restaurants; New Hampshire Locations May Be Impacted: The chain that closed hundreds of locations in 2024 expects to shutter approximately 360 nationwide during the first half of 2026.
- Police Arrest Man On Felony Charges After South State Street Shooting In Downtown Concord: Follow-Up: David Anziani faces first-degree and second-degree assault, reckless conduct, and felonious firearm charges after a shooting on Saturday.
- Hollis Teen Faces Assault Charge, Accused Of An ‘Unprovoked’ Attack In Downtown Nashua In November: Connor Cook was arrested in late December after being accused of punching another man in the face on Main Street and then fleeing the scene.
- How Much Income Is Needed To Be Considered ‘Rich’ In New Hampshire?: A new analysis details the annual household income required to be considered among the top 10 percent of earners in the Granite State.
Here are some other posts readers may have missed:
Child Death Investigation | Queen City Tax Cap Fight | Fun Things To Do This Weekend | More: PM Patch NH
New Jersey
Pa., N.J., Del. Democrats decry U.S. attack on Iran: ‘Americans do not want war’
U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Chester County, said in a post on X that although “Iran is a very bad actor on the world stage … the American people have not been given any evidence of an appreciable change, and Congress did not authorize any action.”
“President Trump, who promised no wars, is now again putting the lives of our men and women in uniform in grave danger all while trampling all over the Constitution,” she said.
“Trump promised Americans no new wars,” state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, said in a post on X. “Every word out of his damn mouth is a lie.”
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware County, said in a post on X that Trump has “done nothing” to prove that the military action will make Americans safer.
“The people of Iran deserve peace and democracy, but the United States must support these goals without plunging our nation into another endless war,” Scanlon said.
U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, joined Kim in calling for a vote on the War Powers Resolution “to stop Trump’s reckless warmongering.”
“After claiming last June he ‘completely and totally obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear program, President Trump launched yet another illegal, ill-conceived attack on Iran,” Evans said in a statement. “These escalations only put American lives, at home and abroad, at greater risk and drag our country towards another endless war.”
In a post on X, U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery County, called the military operation in Iran the result of “the erratic decision-making of an irrational President.”
“Americans do not want war,” Dean said. “Americans do not want to send their sons and daughters into foreign conflict. Americans do not want to live in fear of an ever-escalating, volatile situation.”
In a statement, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., lambasted the military action as “a reckless new war of choice with no clear strategy and no clear end point.”
“This is not how a democracy goes to war,” Coons said. “Less than five years after the end of the longest war in American history, the United States is once again staring down another open-ended conflict with a hostile country in the Middle East that could cost the lives of many American service members.”
U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., said in a statement that Trump’s “reckless actions demonstrate a troubling lack of clear foreign policy strategy” and also called for a vote on the War Powers Resolution.
“He has inched us closer to war on a whim and the last thing we need is another open-ended war in the Middle East,” she said. “Escalation without a clear strategy risks putting Americans in harm’s way and sets a dangerous precedent, signaling to adversaries like China and Russia that there are no consequences to aggression.”
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., said in a post on X that he is praying for “our brave troops and our steadfast allies who stand with us during this challenging and noble mission.”
“The president has given the ayatollahs a chance for a deal, and they have rejected a path to peace and prosperity,” McCormick said.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined Republicans in praising the operations.
“President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region. God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel,” he said in a post on X.
Pennsylvania Treasurer and GOP gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity said in a post on X that she “will always stand with the brave men and women of our military who serve with strength, discipline, and honor to protect our nation.”
This story may be updated.
WHYY News reporter Phil Davis contributed to this story.
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