Poll shows tight race to fill Santos' New York House seat

Democrat Tom Suozzi had a 4-point lead over Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip in a Newsday/Siena College poll, but that was within the margin of error.

Feb 8, 2024 - 14:20
Poll shows tight race to fill Santos' New York House seat

The two candidates running to replace expelled former Rep. George Santos in New York are neck-and-neck in the final week of the race, according to a Newsday/Siena College poll released Thursday.

Former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who formerly held the seat, had 48 percent support among likely voters compared to 44 percent for Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip, a Nassau County legislator. About 7 percent of voters were undecided in the bellwether race set for Tuesday.

The result is within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

The two candidates were picked by local parties in New York City and Long Island to replace Santos, who became the sixth person to ever be expelled from the House in December after lawmakers successfully voted him out. Santos, a Republican, faces a 23-count federal indictment for fraud and campaign finance violations and has pleaded not guilty.


Before Santos was expelled from the House, Suozzi announced in October that he would be making a comeback bid to Congress. Instead of running for a fourth House term two years ago, Suozzi unsuccessfully primaried New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Pilip is a registered Democrat, despite having won local elections as a Republican, POLITICO discovered.

The winner of next week's election will complete Santos' unexpired term, which ends at the beginning of next year.

Siena College surveyed 694 likely voters between Feb. 3-6. Voters were interviewed by phone, contacted off a list of registered voters in the district.