New York 3rd District special election: Suozzi projected to defeat Pilip

Democrats cut into Republicans’ already narrow House majority.

By538 and ABC News via five thirty eight logo
Last Updated: February 13, 2024, 7:00 PM EST

Democrat Tom Suozzi has won the special election in New York’s 3rd District, defeating Republican Mazi Pilip to flip a House seat from red to blue. (The seat was formerly held by Republican Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December after a series of scandals.) As a result, Republicans’ already narrow House majority has been reduced to 219-213.

Throughout the night, 538 reporters, analysts and contributors have been live-blogging the results in real time and breaking down what (if anything) they mean for November. Read our full analysis below.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Brittany Shepherd Image
ByBrittany Shepherd
Feb 13, 2024, 10:47 PM EST

Sweet Victory

Valentine's Day came early with a election night ending before 11 p.m.

—Brittany Shepherd, ABC News

Nathaniel Rakich Image
ByNathaniel Rakich
Feb 13, 2024, 10:35 PM EST

That extra seat is big for Democrats

With the win tonight, Democrats have narrowed Republicans’ House majority to 219-213. That means Republicans will only be able to afford three defections on votes going forward — otherwise votes will be tied 216-216 and not pass. In addition, Democrats now need to flip only four Republican-held seats in the 2024 election to take back the House.

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538

G. Elliott Morris Image
ByG. Elliott Morris
Feb 13, 2024, 10:30 PM EST

ABC News has projected a winner

The ABC News decision desk is now affirming the calls from other sources, projecting that Tom Souzzi will win the race and flip a seat for the Democrats.

—G. Elliott Morris, 538

Monica Potts Image
ByMonica Potts
Feb 13, 2024, 10:28 PM EST

Pilip is conceding now

In a quick speech in front of supporters, Pilip said she'd called Suozzi and conceded the race. This outcome is not a huge surprise: Suozzi is a known entity and Pilip was a newer face who was outspent in the race.

—Monica Potts, 538