Republican Maj Pilip and Democrat Tom Suozzi had a heated exchange Thursday over abortion and border security during the first debate in Congress to replace George Santos.
Thursday’s pre-recorded town hall-style debate, hosted by News 12 Long Island, comes less than a week before the Feb. 13 special election for New York’s 3rd House of Representatives, with a new poll showing Mr. Pilip and Mr. Suozzi. The competition was held in a situation where it was shown that the two teams were almost evenly matched. .
Pilip declared he was “pro-life” and would “fight for women’s rights,” prompting Suozzi to question his stance on abortion in a heated back-and-forth.
“I’m a mother of seven children, and I believe every woman should have the choice to make the decision when it comes to abortion,” Pilip said. “I chose to be a mother of seven children. That was my choice. I don’t impose my beliefs on women.
“Therefore, I am not going to support a national abortion ban. Therefore, I am not going to jeopardize women’s rights,” she added.
“Are you saying you’re pro-choice?” Suozzi probed.
“Are you pro-choice?” the former senator asked again, interrupting Pilip as he began to answer.
“It’s a personal decision, a personal choice, and every woman should make that choice,” Pilip said. “I’m not going to tell her what to do.”
“So you’re pro-choice,” Suozzi interjected.
Pilip was furious at this point and raised his voice and retorted: “Again, this is a personal choice. Every woman will make that decision.”
“Tell me you’re pro-choice,” Suozzi demanded.
“I’m Maji Pilip, I’m pro-life. This is who I am,” the Ethiopian-born Nassau County councilman declared.
“She’s like Rick Lazio now,” Suozzi joked, referring to the former New York congressman who takes a similar position on abortion.
Pillip said she has received support from New York conservatives who oppose abortion, but “I don’t agree with everything they say.”
Read more of the Post’s coverage of the special election to replace George Santos:
The two candidates also clashed on immigration and border security, with Mr. Suozzi, branded “Sanctuary Suozzi” by a pro-Republican super PAC, over his decision to remove federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from Nassau County while in office. was forced to defend. As a county executive.
“So George Santos got elected by lying about his background. Mr. Pilip wants to get elected by lying about me,” Suozzi said of the “Sanctuary Suozzi” ad.
He claimed that he ordered the ICE agents to go home after receiving a complaint from the Nassau County Police Chief.
“The reality is, in 2007, the police chief came to me and said, ‘These guys are breaking the rules.’ They had 96 warrants. They had 90 wrong warrants. They went to addresses and broke down people’s doors,” Suozzi claimed. “They pointed guns at Nassau County police officers.”
“He said, ‘I can’t work with these people.’ So the police chief told me to stop working for ICE. Do you diss the police chief?”
Suozzi noted that while he was a member in 2018, he was one of just 18 Democrats who “voted to defund ICE,” a vote loyal to a far-left “sect” of the House of Representatives. He claimed that this was proof that he did not have any feelings for him.
“To suggest that I am part of the team is to [Pilip] I’m a member of George Santos’ volleyball team,” he said in his second Santos-related spiel of the night.
Mr Pillip countered that Mr Suozzi had “voted for open borders” as a lawmaker and had “created an immigration crisis”.
“I’m telling you, as a county executive, you are in charge of this county.[警察]It doesn’t matter what the Director says. In the end, it’s your decision,” she continued.[police[commissionerwilltellyouIntheendyoumakethatdecision”shecontinued[police[commissionerwilltellyouIntheendyoumakethatdecision”shecontinued
“Mazi Pillip exposed Tom Suozzi as Joe Biden’s accomplice in creating the immigration crisis,” Pilip’s spokesperson Brian Devine said in a statement about the debate. “We held her accountable for lying, especially about her position on abortion.”
Meanwhile, Suozzi’s camp criticized Pilip’s debate performance as “insane” and “disturbing”.
“Maji Pilip’s performance was incredibly disturbing,” Suozzi campaign adviser Kim Devlin said in a statement. “Pilip was completely uninformed, constantly repeating scripted points and becoming increasingly erratic when challenged on issues.”
A Siena College poll conducted for Newsday and released Thursday found that 44% of likely voters supported Mr. Pilip, a two-time immigrant and former Israeli paratrooper, while 48% supported Mr. Suozzi. It was found that it supports. The poll had a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points, showing the race to be even.
Another Emerson College Poll/PIX11/The Hill poll, also released Thursday, showed 50% of likely voters back Suozzi and 47% back Pilip. . The poll had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points, showing signs of a statistical dead heat once again.
