Democrats have fired the first salvo in their bid to reclaim lying George Santos’ vacant House seat in what is expected to be a low-turnout Feb. 13 special election — a seven-figure TV ad claiming Republican candidate Mazi Pilip would imperil government services.
In the 30-second spot that began airing Monday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says Pilip would be part of a House GOP majority that will cut Social Security, veterans’ benefits and funding for law enforcement.
“The MAGA Republican movement handpicked their candidate for Congress – Mazi Pilip. And Pilip would join MAGA Republicans to pass an agenda that would hurt Nassau County and Queens. Cuts to Social Security, forcing seniors to pay more and retire later. Cuts to law enforcement jobs, making our communities less safe. And deep cuts to our veterans’ benefits,” the slash-and-burn commercial claims.
“Mazi Pilip — handpicked by MAGA to support their agenda,” the script concludes. “Not ours.”
The GOP camp slammed the House Democrats’ ad as a desperate smear.
“It’s falsehoods. It’s all lies,” Nassau County Republican chairman Joe Cairo told The Post Tuesday.
“Mazi has increased the number of police,” he added. “She would never move to cut Social Security. She would never cut benefits to veterans. She’s an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] veteran!”
Ethiopia-born Pilip, 44, moved to Israel as a youth and served as an IDF paratrooper. A mother of seven, she was re-elected to a second term in the Nassau County legislature last fall in a district anchored by her hometown of Great Neck.
Pilip will face off against former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi in the Third Congressional District, which covers Nassau County and parts of Eastern Queens. The special election is being held to fill the vacancy left by fabulous fibber Santos, who was expelled from the House Dec. 1 for ethical transgressions, including misusing campaign funds.
While Democrats are moving aggressively to reclaim the seat, national Republicans are keeping their powder dry so far, with no ad buys planned for another two weeks.
By contrast, the Democrats’ House Majority PAC alone plans to spend $5.9 million to help Suozzi win back the vacated seat.
Cairo insisted Tuesday that House Republicans will throw money into the race when the time is right.
“We have the issues on our side,” he said, citing the Democrats’ soft-on-crime cashless bail policy, ongoing inflation, and support for Hamas-led Palestinians over Israel in the current Middle East war.
Suozzi, 61, a former two-term Nassau County executive, served three terms in Congress from 2017 through 2023. He decided not to seek re-election in 2022 — losing badly to Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Following the latest round of redistricting, the Third Congressional District is more Republican-friendly than when Suozzi last served in the House — paving the way for Santos’s victory last cycle over Democrat Robert Zimmerman.