Kellyanne Conway: Mazi Pilip became ‘political roadkill’ in New York race

Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to President Trump, recounted Maj Pilip’s defeat in the New York House special election on Tuesday, saying the Republican candidate was left in a “political deadlock” by poor campaign management.

Mr. Pillip lost to former New York state Rep. Tom Suozzi by seven points in the Long Island race for former Rep. George Santos’s (R) seat, a margin that was larger than expected. The race will give Democrats momentum heading into November, when New York is set to be a key battleground in the House race.

Conway told Fox News’ Dana Perino on Wednesday that Pillip still has a future as a Republican candidate “if he stops being wishful thinking about where he stands vis-à-vis party leaders and potential nominee Donald Trump.” he said.

“If she wants to distance herself from him, she can do that. If she wants to hug him, she can hug him. But sitting in the middle of the highway becomes a political traffic accident.” ,” Conway said. “And the people who distance themselves from Trump because their consultants say so, the blame is somehow on Trump.”

After Tuesday’s loss, former President Trump denounced Pilip as a “stupid” and said he could have been more successful if he had hung on to Pilip instead of “stepping over the fence.” Pilip never supported President Trump and promoted himself as a moderate. She was a registered Democrat until 2012.

Conway also praised Suozzi’s campaign, noting that Republicans can learn lessons from the defeat. She acknowledged that his overperformance with early voters and criticism of the Biden administration’s immigration policies benefited his campaign.

“We have to run a real adult campaign. Mr. Suozzi did two smart things that Republicans should learn from. Number one is early voting,” she said. “Yesterday’s weather in New York proves this. Get your vote out early. It’s very important to get early voting and make Republican voters, center-right voters, comfortable voting early.” is important.”

“No. 2, Suozzi, instead of lying like other Democrats are doing…saying, ‘You’d better go against your own party at the border,'” she continued. “And he did it. Paid ads, mailers, press conferences, public calls. So he’s teaching Democrats how to run in the borderlands.”

Conway said Republicans can and should take a cue from Suozzi’s strategy for 2024 by converting his approach to immigration to an approach to abortion in battleground states. Ta.

“I think Republicans should do the same thing on abortion. Instead of being an ostrich and sticking their head in the sand and pretending, they should be a peacock and say, ‘Look, this is pro-life in 2024, this is pro-life in 2024. What does it mean to be a choice?’” she said.

“Instead of hiding it, own it and send a message,” she continued. “I think he’s done a great job of being non-partisan. Let’s see how many Democrats follow suit.”