After stalling for a few days, MAGA Mike finally swore Tom Suozzi into Congress this week. After the ceremony, Suozzi delivered an impassioned speech on the House floor, noting that all of their constituents “are sick and tired of the finger-pointing and petty partisan politics. They want us to work together… The people aren’t paying us to make things worse. The people pay us to be in the solutions business.”
He reminded MAGA Mike that the two of them were both originally elected in 2016 and sworn in on the same day. “I remember,” he said, “when you founded the Honor and Civility Caucus. You said at the time it was to ‘restore collegiality… and encourage productive dialogue.’ Sign me up. Sign me up. Mr. Speaker, I know you believe in collegiality and productive dialogue. We need more of that and less of the hot air fanning the flames of anger that we have seen from some in our country. But, after my recent election, you said something I must gently take exception to. You said, ‘Tom Suozzi ran like a Republican.’ I’m sure you meant it as a compliment. Let me be clear, Mr. Speaker: I am a true-blue, dyed in the wool, Democrat— but more important, like you, and the men and women in the chamber, I am a true-blue, dyed in the wool American. Like any patriot of the greatest country on earth, I am willing to compromise to solve problems.” And when the House reconvened, there was a bipartisan compromise... to not shut down the government. 97 MAGA lunatics who want to shut down the government-- the usual suspects like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Traitor Greene (GA), Andy Biggs (AZ), Chip Roy (TX), Clay Higgins (LA), Lauren Boebert (CO), Scott Perry (PA), Bob Good (VA), Mary Miller (IL), Andy Ogles (TN), Eli Crane (AZ), Matt Rosendale (MT), Troy Nehls (TX), Cory Mills (FL), Warren Davidson (OH), Anna Paulina Luna (PA), Ralph Norman (SC), Josh Brecheen (OK), Jim Jordan (OH), Byron Donalds (FL), Alex Mooney (WV), Andy Clyde (GA), etc-- voted against it.
Now that a Democrat has flipped NY-03, there are still 4 or 5 decent targets for New York Democrats to win in November, retiring— in order of flippability— Anthony D’Esposito (NY-04), Brandon Williams (NY-22), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Marc Molinaro (NY-19) and Nick LaLota (NY-1). The new maps, which were passed with some bipartisan support this week and signed by Gov. Hochul, don’t do much to change the electoral calculus of the state. The only incumbent who got screwed over was MAGA-adjacent Brandon Williams, whose district goes back to leaning blue, losing parts of Oneida County, including Rome, and picking up Auburn and other parts of Cayuga County. The district he won in 2022 had given Biden a 7.5 point win over Trump. The new lines would have given Biden an 11.6 win. (Conservative Democratic state Senator— a disaster of a candidate— will likely gain from these changes in the primary against progressive champion Sarah Klee-Hood.)
Tom Suozzi’s district wound up with a few more blue precincts as it stretched east into Suffolk County (Huntington Station and Cold Spring Harbor) and a few less red precincts in Massepequa. Republican incumbents Andy Garbarino and Nick LaLota were the happy beneficiaries of those changes.
Breathing a sigh of relief: Nicole Malliotakis, who didn’t wind up with any blue Brooklyn precincts added to her district; Jamaal Bowman, who got Coop City back, which should help him, slightly, to fend off a challenge from AIPAC-funded right-of-center Westchester Democrat George Latimer; and Mike Lawler, whose district is already blue-leaning but didn’t get more Democratic neighborhoods as he feared.
The state GOP has already said it will not sue to have the new maps overturned.