Why could Democrats let Jorge Santos' seat slip away?

On February 13, voters in New York's 3rd District will go to the polls to elect a replacement for Jorge Santos, who vacated his seat in the House of Representatives after being harshly criticized by the institution's Ethics Committee for conduct that already caused his impeachment. Charged by the American judicial system. However, if special elections favor Democrats in recent years, it could end in an unexpected defeat.

Republicans had every right to expect Santos to lose his seat. They largely encouraged Democratic voters to vote for this upstart politician who lied about every aspect of his life. But the same issues that allowed them to take five New York state seats from Democrats in November 2022, including Santos' seat, appear to have made Santos' lies and corruption forgotten. Because these issues – illegal immigration and crime – are more urgent today than they were 14 months ago, after more than 150,000 immigrants arrived in New York since last summer.

Republicans are not only accusing Democrats of being responsible for the situation by opening the borders to immigrants. They also accuse them of treating criminals among them with white gloves. The photo at the top of this post shows one of the six Venezuelan immigrants who were arrested last week (and then released without bail, all but one of them) in connection with the beating of two New York police officers who intervened to restore peace outside a migrant shelter in Times Square. The beating was filmed on a surveillance camera.

He strongly criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg She pointed out The suspects have been released while evidence is still being collected. Police say four of the suspects are now in California after using fake names to obtain free bus tickets from a charity. In short, these immigrants are waving their middle fingers at the New Yorkers who have fed and housed them for months, according to what we can read and see in the city's tabloids.

Joe Biden won the 3rd District by 8 percentage points in 2020. But since then Democratic defeats have piled up there. The party's candidate, Tom Suozzi, who once represented the area in the House of Representatives, is sounding the alarm.

“It's a very difficult seat.” He told CNN. Democrats have lost everything on Long Island and Northeast Queens over the past three years. The Democratic brand is in trouble here, and we need to do a lot to overcome this problem. »

Suzi Mazi faces Melissa Philip, a 44-year-old Israeli immigrant of Ethiopian descent who served in the Israel Defense Forces. She is not known to keep her public appearances and statements to a minimum. The fact Susi returns to often: This local elected official is still registered as a Democrat on the electoral roll. She refuses to reveal who she voted for in 2016 and 2020.

“It happened three years ago” Announce Bilib, in response to a question about her vote in 2020: “I have not voted yet.” »

Suozzi's reaction: “For most people, this is a personal decision. She is running for US Congress. Tell us who you supported in 2016 and 2020.”

But voters may not care about this issue as much as they care about managing the southern border, which has implications for the city where they live or work.

(Photo from the New York Post)