Political post

 It’s 2024, a presidential election year.  We will vote for President of the United States, 1/3 of the Senate, and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives.  The Iowa caucuses are happening on January 15, beginning a process that will culminate with Election Day on November 5.  It’s going to be an exciting and anxiety-ridden year.

Did I say Election Day was November 5?   That’s true, but around here we have an election on February 13.

You’ll recall that I live in the Third Congressional District.  Yeah, the District that was previously represented by the now-former Congressman, George Santos.  With Santos’ ouster, we will have a special election next month to fill the seat.

Although removing Santos was a bipartisan effort, now that he’s gone …

There are 435 seats in the House of Representatives.  You need to hold 218 seats to be considered the majority party.  With Santos removed and two Congressmen having resigned, the Republicans currently hold 219 seats.  The Republicans would like to increase their majority, the Democrats would like to gain an additional vote.  So there’s been a lot of national attention, time and money involved in this election.

The Republicans have gone to “identity politics”.  They’ve chosen Mazi Pilip, a member of the county legislature who was not previously known outside of her community.  She has a very modest record in the legislature, tows the Republican Party line even though she’s actually registered as a Democrat.   (Yeah, I know …). But what makes her so interesting?  She’s an immigrant, born in Ethiopia, raised and educated in Israel, even served in the IDF.  Did I happen to mention that this District has a significant Jewish population?  And a large Black community?  Yeah, identity politics.  

Now, the Democrat … his name is Tom Suozzi.  He was our Congressman, first elected in 2016.  Before he ran for Congress he served as Mayor of Glen Cove and Nassau County Executive, and his name and credentials are well known.  Suozzi beat a then-unknown George Santos in 2020.  He chose not to seek reelection in 2022 because he wanted to run for governor; he ran a primary against Governor Kathy Hochul.  That left the door open for Santos.  

If you’re wondering who I’m supporting, let me drop a hint.

Yeah, that’s me and Drew at a Suozzi fundraiser in 2020.