Republican Maji Pilip and Democrat Tom Suozzi each made their final appeals to voters Monday in a closely contested House race to replace ousted Long Island Rep. George Santos. Mother Nature may be in charge.
Political observers say the storm, which is expected to dump up to 8 inches of snow on the region on Tuesday, will affect voting in the bruising special election for the 3rd Congressional District, which covers much of Nassau County and parts of northern Queens. There were concerns that this could affect the rate.
“After the close races and millions of dollars spent, elections may be decided by the weather gods,” said Lawrence, a longtime election observer and director of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. Levy says. Long Island Politics.
Some believe the storm could turn Mr. Suozzi, a three-term former congressman, in an advantage as thousands of Democrats turned out to cast their ballots in early voting during a bitter nine-day campaign. .
But conservatives angry over issues such as the deepening border crisis and dissatisfaction with President Biden are pulling their cars out of the snow and ice and driving to polling places to vote for Nassau County Rep. Pilip. There may be a stronger motivation to go.
“That could be problematic for both parties. There are varying opinions in both parties about the implications of this,” Levy said.
The Nassau Republican Party organization has a better “Get Out to Vote” campaign on Election Day, and former U.S. Sen. Al D’Amato, who has strong ties to the local Republican Party, is trying to make sure rainy weather doesn’t affect turnout. He hinted that it would help. Pilip.
“I don’t think the weather will have much of an effect. It will bring more people to the polls,” D’Amato told the Post, adding his anger at the state Legislature and Washington also encouraging people to go to the polls. I would encourage you to do so.
“Maji will win. Biden has gone crazy. There’s a border crisis and people hate it,” D’Amato said.
He also said that Pilip, an Orthodox Jew who served in the Israeli army, is among Democratic-leaning Jewish voters in the district because of Biden’s wishful support for Israel in its war against Hamas. He pointed out that he expected to achieve quite good results among the students.
Both candidates have distanced themselves from the president, and Pillip said in an interview Monday morning on FOX 5’s “Good Day New York” that during the 2021-2022 term, when Biden was a congressman, there were many opponents. He emphasized that he supported Biden’s policies.
“The immigration crisis we’re facing right now. Illegal immigrants coming into our country – these are the things he needs to do.” [Suozzi] I created it,” Pilip said.
“He’s the one to blame. We have to hold him accountable.”
Pilip added: “I’m going to protect our borders. This is our job.”
She said she and her husband legally immigrated to the U.S. from Israel, and that immigration is done in a “planned” manner, in contrast to the “chaos” at the southern border with Mexico under the Biden administration. He emphasized that it should be done.
Meanwhile, Suozzi said: running as a candidate He worked with Republicans across the aisle, portraying Mr. Pillip as “taking positions on the far right of the Republican Party and refusing to compromise.”
“I’m not just running as a Democrat versus Republican candidate. Let’s work together as Democrats and Republicans to heal our country,” Suozzi said on FOX 5.
He said he supported a Senate bill that included a compromise to strengthen border security, but it fell apart due to Republican opposition.
Nassau County Democratic Party Leader Jay Jacobs said he was concerned about inclement weather at the time the Feb. 13 special election date was set by Gov. Kathy Hochul, which led to Suozzi’s early voting period ending Saturday. This was the reason for the emphasis on
“I said, ‘There could be a blizzard in the special election, so you better be prepared.’ You know what? I should get a job as a weather forecaster.” quipped Jacobs to the Post.
He said the slippery slope could have an even bigger impact on Republicans, but the whole issue could be overblown as he expects the situation to improve once the storm passes.
Suozzi’s campaign said it has increased transportation to polling places and will continue to have volunteers going door-to-door on Election Day despite the snow and will continue to operate telephone safes.
Jacobs noted that, considering absentee ballots received, at least 11,000 more Democrats voted early than Republicans in the Nassau and Queens parts of the district combined.
Lisa Taylor, 39, a lifelong Long Island resident who works at an ice cream shop, said she would be unable to get into her house if it snowed and would vote for Pilip.
“I always vote… because New York sucks and we need to change and we need to get rid of those in charge,” Taylor said Monday, while Pilip was hosting a rally later that night. He spoke to the Post from Franklin Square.
Read more of the Post’s coverage of the special election to replace George Santos:
Joe Bowler, 58, a fellow Long Islander, said he had already voted early for Pilip but was worried that the snow would reduce turnout.
“It’s unfortunate, but there are vacancies that need to be filled,” he said of the timing of the election.
“This area is aging, and a lot of people don’t want to drive in the snow, go out in the snow, or slip on snow,” he added.
The race to finish Mr. Santos’ remaining 11 months in office has been heated, with advertising spending exceeding $21.5 million, ahead of Democrats and Suozzi’s $13.6 million and Republicans and Pilip’s $7.9 million.
Republicans narrowed the ad spending gap with Mr. Suozzi last month from 6-1 to 2-1 in the final round.
Voting will take place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on election day.
