Democrat Tom Suozzi has won the New York special election to the U.S. House, according to an AP race call. Suozzi will serve out the remainder of the term for former GOP Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from the House last year.

  • 520@kbin.social
    5·
    9 months ago

    Is a “special election” like what we call a “by election” in the Commonwealth?

    Basically, yes.

    The thing with George Santos is that he wasn’t kicked out of office by the usual means. He was criminally convicted and then impeached expelled.

    So in order to ensure that Santos’s constituency is still represented in government, they called an emergency election to pick his replacement. That’s what the special election is, and what other places would call a by-election.

    If so I don’t know how much to read into this. In Parliamentary systems it’s a well known fact that by elections tend to see a swing against the majority.

    While true, this doesn’t take into account the nature and publicity of Santos’s crimes.

    Remember that Santos defrauded and lied to his constituents in such a brazen manner that even Trump would blush, and with none of the cult backing. Santos was a GOP representative, so it makes sense for those pissed at Santos possibly also being pissed at the GOP for letting it happen.

    And Santos’s lies got more and more publicity as time went on. It became clear for a lot of people that this guy just wasn’t what they voted for, and the man they did vote for was a complete and utter fabrication.