GOP super PAC hires snow plows in NY-3 — but only in 'key Republican precinct areas'

13 February 2024

Tonight's special election in New York's 3rd Congressional District is likely to be close, and could ultimately come down to which side manages to turn out the most voters in the midst of inclement weather.

Voters are headed to the polls to cast ballots for either Democrat Tom Suozzi, who is the former Nassau County executive, or Republican Mazi Pilip, who is an Ethiopian-born Israeli citizen who emigrated to New York. A sudden snowstorm that blew through the Northeast snarled traffic in and around the district — which encompasses the outer parts of Queens and parts of Long Island — and has made voter turnout the biggest question of the day. Suozzi is slightly favored in polls, but with the caveat that the polling sample assumed typical turnout levels not impacted by weather.

Boston Globe reporter Lissandra Villa de Petrzelka tweeted on Tuesday that the Congressional Leadership Fund's super PAC (the main campaign arm for House Republicans) paid for multiple snowplows throughout the district. However, those extra snowplows are reportedly focused on "key Republican precinct areas."

The 3rd Congressional District's special election was triggered after disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R-New York) was expelled from the House of Representatives following a damning ethics committee report late last year. Aside from the issues raised in the ethics report — like Santos spending campaign donations on designer handbags and online adult content subscriptions — the former congressman also faced numerous allegations of lying about his background and experience prior to winning a close election in 2022.

Suozzi previously represented the 3rd district after being elected in 2016, though he left office to mount an unsuccessful campaign in New York's gubernatorial race in 2022, where he eventually lost to Kathy Hochul. Pilip is a political outsider who has never held elected office before, and was a member of the Israeli Defense Forces paratroopers brigade when fulfilling her compulsory military duties. While she is running as a Republican, she was initially a registered Democrat in 2012.

CNN reported on Tuesday afternoon that just 39,000 had voted in-person at the polls as of 3:30 PM, compared to more than 129,000 voters who showed up at their precincts in the 2022 midterm elections. But early voting has been a significant factor as well, with roughly 80,000 ballots already submitted prior to the February 13 special election.

Should Suozzi win on Tuesday night, the Republican House majority would shrink even further, giving House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) even less leeway to pass conservative policies through his chamber.

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