Tom Suozzi to run for his former seat in Congress

Ijust always made it a point to get to know people, to understand where they were coming from.”

Tom Suozzi, Candidate, Congress

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, who represented the 3rd District, announced Tuesday he will file to run for Congress in the hope of replacing embattled Republican George Santos.

Official speculation that Suozzi would enter the race to recapture his seat goes as far back as April during a CNBC newscast. But among his supporters, including those from his hometown of Glen Cove, the hope that he would return more than likely began when Suozzi lost his gubernatorial bid on June 27, 2022 to Democrat Kathy Hochul.

There is no guarantee that Suozzi will be the Democratic candidate. He will have to win a crowded primary, with eight Democrats who have declared their candidacy. He would have to be chosen by Jay Jacobs, the New York Democratic Committee chair, and Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens. Suozzi would also have to be approved by Hochul, who he has not had a positive relationship with since his loss to her in the primary.

The eight Democratic candidates to run in the primary are Steve Behar, Austin Cheng, Anna Kaplan, Joshua Lafazan, Scott Livingston, Zak Malamed, William Murphy and Darius Radzius. The date for New York’s primary has not been determined yet.

On Instagram, Suozzi explained his reasons for running, saying, “The madness in Washington, D.C. and the absurdity of George Santos remaining in the United States Congress is obvious to everyone. You know me, I’ve never sat on the sidelines. From the cost-of-living to immigration, crime, climate change, combating terrorism in the Middle East and globally, and simply helping people, we need more commonsense and compassion and less chaos and senseless fighting.”

Santos remains under investigation by the House Ethics Committee who is looking into violations of campaign finance laws, financial disclosure and sexual misconduct. If found guilty, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Santos would be removed from office although it is not clear if that will happen now that McCarthy has been ousted from his post. Congressman Anthony D’Esposito did introduce a resolution on Wednesday to expel Santos from office. It was co-sponsored by fellow N.Y. Republicans Nick LaLota, Brandon Williams, Mike Lawler, Nick Langworthy and Marc Molinaro.

There are other investigations of Santos as well, including those being conducted by Nassau and Queens district attorneys and the New York State attorney general. And on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney Breon Peace has added 10 more counts to the case he’s building against the embattled congressman. New charges include wire fraud, making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission, falsifying records in an attempt to obstruct the FEC, aggravated identity theft, and access device fraud. 

“As alleged, Santos is charged with stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC — and, by extension, the public — about the financial state of his campaign,” Peace said, in a release. “Santos false inflated the campaign’s reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen.”

When Santos announced he would run for reelection on April 17, he did not address the charges against him.

“We need a fighter who knows the district and can serve the people fearlessly, and independent of local or national party influence,” Santos said. “Good isn’t good enough, and I’m not shy about doing what it takes to get the job done.”

Santos penned bills while serving as a congressman, but none have been co-sponsored by his colleagues in the House or have moved beyond the initial stage of being presented.
Suozzi enters the race with plenty of government experience. He was Glen Cove’s mayor from 1994 to 2001 and was Nassau County executive from 2002 to 2009. Suozzi was elected to Congress in 2017 leaving to run for governor against Hochul.

When Suozzi was elected to Congress, he joined the Problem Solvers Caucus — 29 Democrats and 29 Republicans who meet weekly to try and find common ground — and served as the co-vice chair. The group, committed to bipartisan lawmaking to end the gridlock in Washington, remained important to Suozzi throughout his time in the House. He stayed with them until he left Congress.

“I just always made it a point to get to know people, to understand where they were coming from,” he told the Herald in February. “And even people I disagree with, I still tried to let them know that I’d work with them in good faith if they were working to solve a problem.”