GREAT NECK, Long Island (PIX11) -- Fallout continued Wednesday after Democrat Tom Suozzi was declared the winner in the special election to replace George Santos.
Suozzi will return to Congress with a rather convincing win, especially considering the race for NY-3 was expected to be very close based on polling. He hopes to be sworn in at the end of the month due to a Confessional recess next week.
Suozzi won the special election with feverish campaigning and directly tackling tough questions on border security that Democrats have been facing lately with calls to compromise.
"So now we have to carry the message of this campaign to the United States, Congress, and across the country," Suozzi said.
It is a blueprint Democrats plan to copy across the state and the nation later this year when every seat in the House of Representatives is up for grabs.
Brooklyn's Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic Minority Leader, will be a key player in this effort.
"There certainly are lessons to be learned in other states and for other candidates this November," Jeffries said.
Meanwhile, Republicans, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, downplayed the race, chalking things up to an inexperienced candidate and the snow.
"There are a lot of factors there," Johnson said. "That is by no way a bellwether of what will happen in the fall."
However, there is no small amount of finger-pointing on the Republican side.
Pilip waffled in support of former President Trump.
Trump seized on this, calling Philip "foolish" on his social media platform.
Meanwhile, Democrats in New York got organized after Republicans swept swing districts across the state in 2022.
A coalition of labor groups known as Battleground New York knocked on 100,000 doors for Suozzi in just a few weeks.
In New York, the political landscape will shift once more before the November elections-- with another redistricting process ordered by New York courts.
Thursday afternoon, voters should get our first glimpse at new maps, although Democrats in Albany will get the final say.