Republicans call on Israeli military veteran to run for Santos seat

Republicans vying to retain the New York House seat vacated by George Santos on Thursday chose another relatively unknown candidate with a notable biography but a thin political resume for a special election next year, according to two party officials briefed on the decision .

After extensive vetting, Republican leaders chose Mazi Melesa Pilip, a local lawmaker who was born in Ethiopia, served as a paratrooper in the Israeli army and ran for office for the first time in 2021, promising to fight anti-Semitism.

The selection was a risky gamble by Long Island Republicans, a group better known for nominating older, white establishment figures. Republicans believe Ms. Pilip, a 44-year-old mother of seven, has the potential to become a national star before the Feb. 13 special election, especially at a time when Israel’s war with Hamas is reshuffling American political alliances.

However, Ms. Pilip lacks many of the qualifications typically valued in a competitive congressional race. She has virtually no fundraising experience, lacks relationships with major party figures outside her affluent New York City suburb and has never faced the kind of criticism that comes with running for high office.

In fact, aside from fierce advocacy for Israel and support for the police, she has not adopted any known public views on key issues that shaped the recent House of Representatives elections. That includes abortion rights, gun laws and the criminal charges against former President Donald J. Trump.

A panel of Republicans from Queens and Nassau counties voted in a secret meeting Thursday morning to nominate Ms. Pilip from more than two dozen candidates, party officials said. They were not authorized to discuss it publicly and a spokesperson for the Nassau County Republican chairman declined to confirm the choice.

Ms Pilip could not immediately be reached for comment.

Republicans were expected to publicly introduce Ms. Pilip at a rally in Massapequa on Friday. The announcement comes two weeks after the House of Representatives voted to expel Republican Santos over damning findings that he fabricated his life story and defrauded campaign donors.

Analysts call the race a toss-up.

Ms. Pilip’s relative anonymity stands in stark contrast to that of her Democratic opponent, Tom Suozzi. A former congressman, Nassau County executive and candidate for governor, Mr. Suozzi has been a fixture in Long Island politics since the 1990s and has amassed a lengthy voting record. He even once held the House seat they were vying for.

The two candidates have at least one thing in common: they are both registered Democrats. Republicans who twice endorsed Ms. Pilip in elections for a seat in the Nassau County Legislature representing Great Neck and Manhasset said they were fully aware she was maintaining that registration, but concluded came to the conclusion that its values ​​better suited their party.

The decision, driven by the chairmen of the Queens and Nassau County Republican parties, ignored several potential nominees who had declared their intention to run for the seat well before Mr. Santos’ ouster. Ms. Pilip has not publicly participated in the race.

Local Republicans subjected several potential nominees, including Ms. Pilip, to extensive screening. Party leaders said they had increased scrutiny of a potential nominee, even using outside research firms, to avoid backing another nominee like Mr. Santos, whose blatant lies went unnoticed by Republicans for years.

Other finalists for the nomination to replace him included Mike Sapraicone, a wealthy former New York Police Department detective who owns a private security company; Daniel Norber, a moving company executive who also served in the Israeli army; Michael LiPetri, a former state commissioner; and Kellen Curry, an Air Force veteran and banker.

Democrats nominated Mr. Suozzi last week, and he has wasted little time trying to claim the middle lane of the race. He formally launched his campaign last Saturday in Levittown on the front lawn of a former New York Police Department officer who said Suozzi was the only Democrat he would ever support.

Flanked by dozens of supporters, Mr. Suozzi vowed to campaign against what he called threats to the suburban American dream: a growing affordability crisis, climate change, dysfunction in Washington and the influx of migrants across the southern border.

“I am a Democrat, and I will always be a Democrat,” he said, adding, “But I will work with anyone who wants to work together to actually solve the problems people face.”

It is a familiar stance for Mr. Suozzi, who for more than three decades won races for mayor, Nassau County government and Congress by running as an outspoken moderate, sometimes at odds with his own party.

Kirsten Noyes research contributed.