What to know about Democratic candidate Tom Suozzi
While you may be most familiar with Democratic candidate Tom Suozzi from his runs for New York governor — or that fact that he was Rep. Santos’s predecessor in the House — the former attorney and father of three has had a long political career in this region of New York. Suozzi was mayor of his hometown, Glen Cove, from 1994-2001, and is part of a local political dynasty: his father and uncle served as mayor of Glen Cove prior to him. He was elected Nassau County executive in 2001 and was widely praised for resuscitating the county’s finances during his eight years in that office.
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Suozzi’s first run for governor came in 2006, when he lost a challenge against then-state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in the Democratic primary. (If you’re too young to remember what happened next, have I got some reading for you.) A few years later, he lost reelection as county executive. He then spent several years in the private sector, working as an attorney and consultant. It wasn’t until Democratic Rep. Steve Israel announced his retirement in 2016 that Suozzi decided to attempt a political comeback, running to replace the 15-year House veteran later that fall. Suozzi beat out four other candidates in the competitive primary and went on to win the seat, and was reelected twice.
During his time in Congress, Suozzi focused on issues of local concern, like raising the cap on state and local tax deductions, and built a centrist record, working across the aisle on issues like immigration and serving as vice-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. He was a reliable supporter of President Biden’s policies, voting with the president 100 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight’s analysis. He also got into hot water for failing to report stock trades he had made, in potential violation of insider trading laws, though the House Ethics Committee ultimately cleared him and two other representatives.
In 2021, Suozzi announced he would not run for reelection, instead challenging Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in another gubernatorial run. The primary race got heated, and many prominent Democrats were displeased with Suozzi for mounting the primary challenge in the first place. Hochul ultimately trounced Suozzi, who came in third, and he reportedly ended up apologizing to the governor in December, as part of an effort to shore up support among New York’s Democratic powerbrokers and secure the party’s nomination to reclaim his House seat.
—Kaleigh Rogers, 538