New York Republicans on Thursday nominated Mazi Melesa Pilip, a Nassau County legislator, as their candidate to fill the vacancy created by former Rep. George Santos’ expulsion from Congress earlier this month.

Former Rep. Pete King, a Long Island Republican, confirmed the selection to Newsday.

“Mazi is the choice,” King told Newsday. “She’s going to be a great candidate. She’s really the American success story, the American dream.”

Pilip is due to face former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), the Democratic nominee, in a Feb. 13 special election that is expected to draw a massive influx of national resources and attention to New York’s 3rd Congressional District, a coveted swing seat.

Democrats, in particular, are eager to give President Joe Biden a jolt of positive political momentum and land an early victory on their road to retake the House.

But Pilip could make for a formidable foe. As an Ethiopian-born Israeli immigrant to the U.S. who served in the Israel Defense Forces’ paratroopers unit and is a relative newcomer to politics, she presents an interesting biographical contrast with Suozzi, an Italian-American lawyer and accountant who previously served as Nassau County executive and mayor of Glen Cove.

If elected, Pilip would join the House’s growing number of Black Republicans (there are currently four). But she would be the only Black Republican woman in the current Congress, and almost certainly the first Black Jew ever to serve on Capitol Hill.

National Republicans plan to paint Suozzi, a centrist who challenged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) from the right, as a liberal who has more in common with the party’s left wing than he lets on.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.