Nassau GOP drags its feet on NY-3 pick

After being dealt several political blows over the past year – from an expulsion and a special election defeat to an awkward public squabble over a nominee – Nassau County Republicans are dragging their feet over a primary election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District. 

The Republican primary, which is set to take place on Jun. 25, decides Democratic incumbent Tom Suozzi’s challenger in the general election in November. Suozzi took his oath of office to represent the district in the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 28, two weeks after defeating GOP candidate and political newcomer Mazi Melesa Pilip in a special election. 

Pilip’s costly and highly visible loss fell on the heels of another high-profile blow for Republicans in NY-3: In December, the House voted to oust their former peer and Rep. George Santos after a House Ethics Committee report revealed the disgraced politician committed several forms of fraud. Reclaiming the seat is not on his radar at the moment, Santos told City & State. 

“I'm working on a movie – a documentary – and also a reality TV show,” Santos told City & State earlier this month. “So there’s just so many things that I’m working on now that I prefer to engage in instead of going into a messy primary to take on Tom Suozzi.”

Santos during the State of the Union address announced that he plans to challenge Rep. Nick LaLota, another Long Island Republican, in the June primary election to represent NY-1.

State party conventions offer hopeful candidates a chance to be designated as their party’s official nominee ahead of a primary election. The New York State Republican Party, however, voted to designate only one candidate – former NYPD detective and Oyster Bay resident Mike Sapraicone – for NY-3 at its convention in Binghamton on Feb. 22. And even he has received push back from prominent figures within New York’s GOP for donating to Attorney General Letitia James.

Without an official nod from the state party committee, Republican hopefuls in NY-3 are left with fewer, less convenient paths toward getting on the primary ballot. A party endorsement does not result in an automatic primary win for that candidate, but partisan candidates often vye for their party’s endorsement because it comes with significant advantages – one of those benefits being the ability to bypass the petitioning process. 

“Any candidate that wants to have a shot, [they’ve] gotta get on the ballot,” said Robert Hornak, an independent consultant who has worked on campaigns for New York City Council members Vickie Paladino and Kristy Marmorato. “And of course, not only is that the first thing they have to do, but it's one of the hardest things they have to do.” 

According to New York’s ballot access laws, candidates running in a congressional race without the backing of one of the four state-recognized political parties – which include the Democrat, Republican, Conservative and Working Families parties – must instead collect 1,250 signatures from voters registered with that party. 

The endeavor may prove to be particularly arduous in a suburban swing district like Nassau County, Hornak said. “This is not the kind of thing like, you know, when you campaign as a Democrat in Manhattan, where you can just stand on the street corner and collect hundreds of signatures a day. It doesn't work that way.” Feb. 29 was the first day to circulate designating petitions for congressional races. 

Nassau and Queens counties’ Republican committees could still endorse someone ahead of the primary to help an individual candidate meet petitioning requirements, though according to Hornak, the Queens County GOP is leaving the decision up to their neighbors on Long Island. The best option for Republicans may be to let the primary push forward without their influence, said John Zaher, president and chief executive officer of Long Island-based consulting firm Public Relations and Marketing Group.  

“So, what happens in these campaigns often is that it takes a lot of organization, fundraising, messaging, and oftentimes, campaigns take a little while to get going before they hit their stride,” he told City & State. “And I think that the result could potentially be that you'll have a stronger Republican candidate who's going to be battle-tested from a primary and will be in a better position to run a strong campaign against Mr. Suozzi.” 

There are a few candidates officially in the mix so far, including security industry veteran Jim Toes. He leads the Security Traders Association, a position that has required him to conduct advocacy work in Washington D.C. for more than a decade. He wants to participate in a competitive primary race, he told City & State. 

“I have faith in them that they will not try to pick this next candidate, that they will allow the people of the New York third Congressional District to pick the candidate – to pick their candidate, who they want to be representing them,” he said. 

Greg Hach, a U.S. Air Force veteran and workplace injury lawyer, recently announced his candidacy – and his plans to allocate $1 million of his own dollars toward his campaign.

“I'd love to have the party's nomination,” he told City & State. “Your party's backing right at the outset, so we can save our resources for the general against Suozzi. And like I said, I'd like to avoid a primary, but you know, I'm not afraid of one.”

Thomas Ludwig, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer, also confirmed with City & State his plans to run in the primary. Kellen Curry, Daniel Norber and Pilip filed to run in the district last July, but it is unclear whether any of them will stay in the race. Curry said he is on the fence about running again in a recent interview with POLITICO, and neither Daniel Norber nor Pilip have made any public announcements about their candidacy.  

Philip Sean Grillo, Harvey Manes and Peter Christofides also filed to run for office in the district, according to FEC filing data.