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Suozzi, who had previously held the seat before resigning to
mount an ultimately unsuccessful run for New York governor, was
one of at least 19 people who had filed to run for Santos'
former seat. The congressional district includes part of New
York City's Queens borough and Long Island suburbs to the east.
"Tom Suozzi has a proven record of fighting for his
constituents, fighting to safeguard our suburban way of life
here on Long Island and Queens and always advocating for
sensible solutions to the real challenges affecting everyday
average Americans," Democratic officials Jay Jacobs and Gregory
Meeks, who is also a congressman, said in a statement.
Other Democrats who had filed to run included a former state
senator, a surgery center executive and a county legislator,
among others.
The Republicans have not yet announced their candidate.
In a race expected to be competitive, the Democrats are seeking
to take back the seat and make a further dent in Republicans'
narrow 221-213 House majority. Their margin was whittled down
further when the chamber moved in a bipartisan 311-114 vote last
Friday to expel Santos from the House.
Santos, 35, who served 11 months of his two-year term, was the
sixth lawmaker in U.S. history to be expelled after he
fabricated significant portions of his biography on the campaign
trail and was indicted on corruption charges.
He has pleaded not guilty to the 23 charges against him filed by
federal prosecutors. His trial is scheduled to start on Sept. 9,
2024.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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