Suozzi wins reelection, with boost from Northeast Queens Democrats

Rep. Tom Suozzi defeated his Republican challenger George Santos following a tally of absentee votes. Photo via Suozzi/Facebook

By David Brand

Rep. Tom Suozzi has won a third term in Congress after reversing a roughly 4,000-vote Election Day deficit following a count of absentee ballots.

Suozzi, a Democrat, declared victory Tuesday after his Republican opponent George Santos called him to concede defeat. Suozzi has represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District since 2017. The district covers much of Nassau County, as well as a chunk of Northeast Queens.

“I will work to try and bridge the divide and address the COVID pandemic, our unstable economy, the climate crisis and the need to rebuild our middle class,” Suozzi said in a statement. “I will never stop fighting for Long Island and Queens and the people of our state and country.”

Suozzi led by more than 10,000 votes Tuesday after initially trailing by about 4,000 in-person ballots on Election Day. He had 51 percent of the vote when Santos conceded.

He performed far better in Queens on Election Day than he did in the Nassau County portion of the district, according to Board of Elections results. He received 3,300 more votes than Santos in Queens County — picking up 20,131 votes in Queens compared to Santos’ 16,828 on Election Day. 

Santos led Suozzi in Nassau County 68,991 votes to  67,522 on Election Day.

Suozzi is the second Democratic lawmaker in Northeast Queens to erase an Election Day deficit following the absentee ballot tally. Assemblymember Edward Braunstein defeated challenger John-Alexander Sakelos Monday.

The phenomenon has been characterized as a “red mirage” by political observers to describe how a Republican leads — depicted as red on election maps — evaporated as more votes were tallied.

“Yet another red mirage falls this weekend. Congratulations to @edbraunstein on your re-election!” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie tweeted Sunday.