'Really bad for Republicans': New York snow slashes voter turnout for George Santos' seat
February 13, 2024
Voters on Long Island headed to the polls Tuesday to vote for the replacement of Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who was expelled from the House after an ethics investigation into his campaign finances and a series of reports revealing he lied about many of his personal facts.
Democratic candidate and former Congressman Tom Suozzi is well-known in the district and has a track record of constituent services there. But Nassau County Republican county legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip has struggled to gain traction in recent polls — with criticism about her struggles to answer some basic questions about her positions on issues like choice, which turned into a contentious conversation in the only debate.
MSNBC's Yasmin Vossoughian spoke to one poll worker in the Third Congressional District, who said the voter traffic has been significantly lower than normal. A Nor'easter is dumping heavy snow on New York with projections of 1-2 inches per hour Tuesday morning.
Such a reduction in voters is bad news for the Republican-leaning district, explained Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA).
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"I think Republicans do have a challenge," said Dent. "To be fair, the Long Island Republicans, Nassau County Republicans are very organized. They're very effective, and things are trending Republican on Long Island because of the crime and immigration issues. But there could be a George Santos penalty here, being the party of George Santos in this district. That could cost them some votes."
He also said that early voting among Democrats is still better than Republicans there, although he said it is getting a little better for the GOP.
He also called the weather "a real thing," explaining that he got about five miles from his home toward the NBC studio and turned back because it was so bad.
"So, if the election day vote is a bit suppressed because of this weather, that might be bad news for Republicans and, of course, Suozzi is a moderate Democrat, and so I think Republicans have a slight disadvantage going into this election," Dent explained.
See the conversation in the video below at the link here.
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