Former President Donald Trump took aim at Republican nominee Mazi Melesa Pilip Tuesday evening following her loss in the swing-district special election to replace ousted GOP Rep. George Santos of New York.
Pilip, a Nassau County legislator, lost the race for New York’s Third Congressional District to former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi by roughly eight points, according to The Associated Press. Trump criticized the Republican for being registered as a Democrat and not endorsing him in a Truth Social post.
“Republicans just don’t learn, but maybe she was still a Democrat?” Trump wrote. “I have an almost 99% Endorsement Success Rate in Primaries, and a very good number in the General Elections, as well, but just watched this very foolish woman, Mazi Melesa Pilip, running in a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to ‘straddle the fence,’ when she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America.”
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“MAGA, WHICH IS MOST OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, STAYED HOME – AND IT ALWAYS WILL, UNLESS IT IS TREATED WITH THE RESPECT THAT IT DESERVES. I STAYED OUT OF THE RACE, ‘I WANT TO BE LOVED!’ GIVE US A REAL CANDIDATE IN THE DISTRICT FOR NOVEMBER. SUOZZI, I KNOW HIM WELL, CAN BE EASILY BEATEN!” Trump added.
Suozzi held the seat until he ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2022, allowing Santos to win the seat. The former congressman launched his campaign in early August, two months before Santos was expelled over allegations of fraud.
Pilip was selected to be the nominee in mid-December by Republican leaders in the Long Island district. The GOP candidate immigrated to the U.S. after serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Democrats significantly outspent Republicans in advertising, and Suozzi raised millions more for his campaign than Pilip did leading up to the special election, according to Federal Election Commission data.
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“Mazi Pilip is a fighter with a bright future within the Republican Party. This was an uphill battle,” North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement. “Joe Biden won this district by 8 points, Democrats outspent Republicans two-to-one, and our Democrat opponent spent decades representing these New Yorkers – yet it was still a dogfight. Republicans still have multiple pathways to grow our majority in November.”
Pilip’s campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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