‘Lesson’ From Suozzi’s Win Is ‘Don’t Run Away from Immigration,’ Progressive Lawmaker Says
Democrats looking for clues on how to run on immigration as an issue
Democrats have been looking for lessons from Rep-elect Tom Suozzi’s surprisingly easy win in Tuesday’s special election to replace disgraced New York Republican congressman George Santos.
And a top progressive is embracing the same roadmap as other Democrats since Suozzi’s 8-point victory in a race dominated by the issue of immigration.
Suozzi recaptured his old seat in Congress with a win over Republican Mazi Pilip in a district covering areas of Long Island and Queens.
Suozzi’s fellow Democrats now are looking to his win for clues for their own success in the November elections which could tilt the House of Representatives back to them.
“Congratulations to Tom Suozzi. I served with him before. Looking forward to serving with him again. He ran a great, disciplined campaign. Secondly, I think what Democrats should learn is: Don’t run away from immigration,” said Rep Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “I agree that we need to lean into this issue. And that is what Tom did, because he didn’t let Republicans define us. He defined us.
“Now, he also, Alex, talked about a path to citizenship. I mean, he talked about the issue of immigration as being one that needs to be fixed, and later on in the campaign he also talked about hypocrisy of Republicans who don't want to fix it, who want to leave it out there as an issue to just try to divide us,” she added during an on-camera appearance with MSNBC host Alex Wagner. “He also was very, very inclusive in talking about his own immigration story, in talking about Ellis Island.
“I mean, he really had a fairly inclusive message. Was it exactly the message I would’ve used in my district? No. But I think that the lesson should not be you’ve gotta talk tough and talk about shutting down the border. It’s about talking about immigration, embracing it,” Jayapal said.
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