Republicans citing internal polling data claim they have a shot — albeit an uphill one — to topple Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi in the 3rd Congressional District encompassing Nassau County and parts of neighboring Queens.
A poll conducted for the Nassau County GOP shows Suozzi leading his Republican opponent, former state Assemblyman Michael LiPetri, 51% to 37%.
But Republicans aren’t discouraged by the sobering initial horse-race survey, saying it only tells part of the story.
“Tom Suozzi is vulnerable because of national and local New York issues. If these issues are left unresolved, it is likely that President Trump will win this district and Republican Mike LiPetri can beat Tom Suozzi,” according to the Aug. 2 survey analysis conducted by pollster McLaughlin & Associates for Nassau County Republican Party chairman Joe Cairo.
“Tom Suozzi’s modest lead on the benchmark ballot collapses once voters learn more about his very liberal record on the important issues like congestion pricing, immigration, taxes and crime,” the internal analysis added.
When informed of Suozzi’s voting record, LiPetri leads 50% to 41%, the survey said.
“With enough resources to increase his name awareness and stance on the issues, Mike LiPetri can beat Tom Suozzi,” the analysis says.
Former Republican President Donald Trump leads Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House by a narrow 47% to 45%, while 72% of voters said the US is heading on the wrong track.
Suozzi, a former Nassau County executive, previously served in Congress for three terms but gave up his seat in 2022 in a failed run for governor, getting trounced by then-sitting Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary.
But he won a special election in February to win back the seat after his successor, serial lying Republican Rep. George Santos, was expelled for ethical misdeeds.
Suozzi defeated Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip by 8 percentage points in a hard-fought race in February that included fierce GOP attacks on his record.
Team Suozzi was not concerned by Republicans claiming that LiPetri could dethrone him.
“Congressman Suozzi’s work across party lines to solve the border crisis, restore the SALT deduction, bring money back to NY and to help heal the partisan divide is what his constituents want and will support him continuing to do,” said campaign senior campaign adviser Kim Devlin.
McLaughlin & Associates surveyed 400 likely general election voters in District 3 from July 23-25 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
