Democrat Tom Suozzi wins election for U.S. House seat to replace expelled Republican

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Democrat Tom Suozzi has won a special election Tuesday for a U.S. House seat in the state of New York previously held by Republican George Santos who was expelled from Congress over a string of scandals.

By defeating Republican Mazi Pilip, Suozzi has retaken the seat he held for three terms and further narrowed the Republicans' majority in the House.

Suozzi won the special election in New York's 3rd Congressional District located on Long Island to replace Santos, who was removed from Congress in early December over lies, scandals and alleged campaign finance crimes.

Santos survived two previous expulsion efforts due to the influence of the current House speaker, Mike Johnson, and his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, who both didn't want to lose his seat to a Democrat in a special election.

On Dec. 1, the lower chamber voted 311-114 to expel Santos, with 105 Republicans and 206 Democrats voting for expulsion. All Republican leaders voted against expulsion.

Santos' removal triggered the rush towards the special election, prompting Democrats to swiftly unite behind Suozzi, who previously served the district from 2017 to 2023, and did not run for re-election last year.