A Democrat has won the swing US congressional district that was left empty after former Republican Congressman George Santos was ousted in December.
Tom Suozzi’s victory over competitor Mazi Pilip on Tuesday night denied Republicans the opportunity to increase their small majority in the House.
He will finish Mr Santos’ tenure after he was removed from Congress due to fraud suspicions.
The race was a carefully followed prelude to the November elections.
In a victory speech momentarily interrupted by protesters demanding for a ceasefire in Gaza, Mr. Suozzi stated, “This race was fought amidst a closely divided electorate.”
He emphasized unity and bridging political divides, adding, “It is time to find common ground and begin delivering for the people of America.”
CBS, the BBC’s US partner, said that with 87% of the predicted votes counted, Mr Suozzi had 54% and competitor Ms Pilip had 45%.
The election marks the Democrat’s return to Congress after serving three terms in the US House but opting out in 2022 to run for governor of New York.
That bid failed, and Mr Santos was elected to Congress instead.
With the campaign slogan “Let’s Fix This,” Mr. Suozzi launched a well-funded campaign to recover his district. He marketed himself as an experienced leader whose biography voters were already familiar with.
Ms. Pilip, the Republican candidate, surrendered the special election race at a speech to supporters on Tuesday evening.
“We are fighters, I called my opponent and congratulated him,” she went on to say.
New York’s Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, said Mr Suozzi’s victory “was good news” for the city.
While Mr Santos’ historic expulsion from Congress stemmed from claims of corruption, fraud, and abuse of campaign finances, the fight to replace him focused on high-profile issues that are likely to be important in the 2017 presidential election.
These included immigration, the Israeli-Gaza conflict, and abortion.
Both candidates and their supporters spent millions of dollars on a campaign to keep the seat for just a few months. Mr. Suozzi will have to run for a new term in November.
New York’s third congressional district includes a varied electorate that stretches from the borough of Queens in New York City to Long Island’s western suburbs.
Despite registered Democrats outnumbering registered Republicans,polls indicated the race was extremely close for most of the short campaign.
Ms Pilip, an Ethiopian-Israeli immigrant and devout Jew who was handpicked to run by Nassau County’s formidable Republican political machine, made immigration and steadfast US support for Israel fundamental to her campaign.
Her biography, in which she immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia as a kid and served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) before moving to the United States, appeared tailor-made to appeal to the district’s substantial Jewish voter base, many of whom are still grieving from the 7 October attacks.
Mr. Suozzi also declared himself an unshakable supporter of Israel, arguing to Jewish voters that he would counteract progressive Democratic Party lawmakers who want to limit or abolish US aid to Israel.
On immigration, Ms Pilip criticized Mr Suozzi and the Democrats for New York City’s wave of migrant arrivals and the crisis unfolding at the southern border.
