Why did New Yorkers pick Democrat Tom Suozzi over Republican Mazi Pilip to fill the seat left vacant after the House expelled George Santos?

Key Quotes: Former President Donald Trump called Pilip a “very foolish woman” after the election, suggesting she was “still a Democrat” and lost because “she didn’t endorse me” and failed to turn out Trump’s supporters. 

‘The issue of immigration fell short’: National Review’s (Opinion rated Right) Jim Geraghty wrote that while “turnout is low,” and “the electorate is usually not as tuned in as in a November,” the GOP’s “pitch to the suburbs” on immigration failed, and Trump’s wing of the party alienated voters. Geraghty also highlighted a Truth Social post in which Trump wrote, “I WANT TO BE LOVED.”

‘The blueprint to take down Trump’: A writer in Newsweek (Center bias) labeled Suozzi a “centrist” whose campaign could be “a blueprint for how the 2024 election could unfold.” Echoing analyses in some other outlets, the Newsweek analysis argued that “ abortion, immigration and crime” — which Suozzi focused on — “are sure to play a key role in the presidential election.”

‘Your boring-but-stable ex’: Democratic strategist Melissa DeRosa wrote in the Daily Beast (Left bias) that Suozzi’s victory “isn’t quite the bellwether some want it to be,” because conditions were optimal for Democrats. Suozzi previously held the seat, she said, and “Democrats in New York took back a seat we never should have given up to begin with.” DeRosa also cited Suozzi’s relatively conservative stances on the border.