Tom Suozzi looks to lift down-ballot Democrats

Tens of millions of dollars flowed into Rep. Tom Suozzi’s campaign as he ran for a high-profile special election in February, propelling the Long Island Democrat to victory and offering his party its first show of strength as Democrats attempt to take back the House of Representatives this year. With that high-profile victory under his belt, Suozzi now enters the November election on solid footing – ready for a race he is expected to win against Republican former Assembly Member Mike LiPetri.

Just because Suozzi has a leg up in his own race for the 3rd Congressional District doesn’t mean that he’s not still on the campaign trail – and this time, he’s sharing the wealth with other candidates on the island. His district and neighboring areas have no shortage of competitive races at the state level, and Suozzi seems committed to ensuring Democrats’ regional success, not just his own.

Suozzi may technically be a first-term representative right now, but he previously represented a version of the same district for six years. Before that, he occupied varying levels of public office for two decades in Nassau County. His near-universal name recognition and positive reputation in the county played a large role in his 8-point special election victory over Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip. If Republicans were taking a chance on a relative political newcomer, Democrats banked on a tried-and-true lawmaker.

At a reelection launch event in September modeled after the Democratic National Convention, Suozzi spent time elevating his fellow candidates in the region. “We’ve got a lot of talented people who’ve devoted their lives to public service, and we’ve got to all work together as a team moving forward,” he said. Suozzi called up at least two dozen current and former elected officials, as well as Democratic candidates, to stand beside him. “There’s a lot of people – (it) takes teamwork to make the dream work,” he said. “We’ve got to keep the whole team together, working together, because we’re not going back.”

Attendees of his reelection launch included state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky and Assembly Members Ed Braunstein and Sam Berger of Queens, Assembly Members Gina Sillitti and Charles Lavine of Nassau County and state Senate candidates Kim Keiserman, Siela Bynoe and Lisa Lin. Many of those people also appeared alongside him to celebrate the opening of each of his campaign’s five district offices. That’s a lot of offices given the size of his district – though it helps that the state party is picking up the tab for the offices as part of its coordinated campaign effort to take back the House. The offices reach each corner of the district, which includes candidates who will also be appearing on the ballot for state legislative races.

Keiserman attended four of the five grand openings – in Port Washington, Glen Cove, Great Neck and Plainview. She’s running to represent the 7th state Senate District, a district currently represented by Republican state Sen. Jack Martins that overlaps extensively with Suozzi’s congressional district. Keiserman told City & State that Suozzi’s support has been greatly welcomed and invaluable. “Congressman Suozzi has built on the operation created during his February special election victory to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot,” she said in a statement. “His help has been instrumental for a first time candidate like myself, including mentorship, introductions to community leaders, fundraising, field coordination and joint campaign events across our districts.” She added that his endorsement forms “a major part” of her campaign’s message.

Lisa Lin, another first-time candidate, is running against Republican state Sen. Steven Rhoads in the 5th state Senate District, which includes the southeastern part of Suozzi’s district. She struck a similar tone as Keiserman, saying in a statement that having “such a strong unified slate of candidates” has created “one unified voice” that is particularly beneficial in a tough district like hers. “It has been invaluable to have the endorsement of Congressman Suozzi,” Lin said. “Nassau voters know and trust him.” She also said that his leadership has demonstrated best practices for communicating messages for voters in the district.

Asked about Suozzi’s regional approach to campaigning and support for down-ballot candidates, his senior campaign adviser Kim Devlin told City & State that Suozzi “has a great presence all over the district and his constituents are well aware and supportive of his priority to fight for commonsense solutions.”

Of course, campaigning as part of a larger ticket is hardly a new concept. Candidates regularly canvass with those whose districts overlap with theirs and carry literature for those who will appear on the ballot alongside them. It’s particularly beneficial for candidates in lower-profile races to associate themselves and their campaigns with ideologically similar candidates for higher office, especially incumbents. In many ways, that’s the purpose of the coordinated campaign that Democrats are running in New York to help win back the House.

But Suozzi’s singular commitment to building up the party with his fellow Democratic candidates stands out – especially because it’s such a departure from how he campaigned during the special election earlier this year. He was, of course, the only candidate on the ballot in February and ran with the blessing of local Democratic leaders. But throughout that campaign, he took steps to distance himself from his party in order to play up his bipartisan appeal. He formally launched his special election campaign on the front lawn of a house owned by a registered Republican, without a single other Democratic elected official in attendance – a far cry from the Democratic lovefest that characterized his reelection kickoff.

Shortly before he was selected as the Democratic nominee for the special election, Gov. Kathy Hochul made Suozzi promise not to disparage the party in ads during the course of the campaign, according to The New York Times. The Democratic brand had taken a beating on Long Island, following several years of Republicans successfully mobilizing anger against liberal policies coming out of Albany. True to his word, Suozzi didn’t criticize his fellow Democrats as he campaigned in the special election, but he didn’t exactly embrace the party either. While Pilip campaigned as a proud representative of the GOP, with the county party operating her campaign and fellow elected officials serving as consistent surrogates on the ground, Suozzi instead leaned heavily on his personal brand, built over a lifetime of working in Nassau County politics.

All that, apparently, is now just a relic of the past, and Suozzi is ready to translate his brand into a unifying party message. And the Democratic Party seems receptive to Suozzi’s approach; the representative was given a prime-time speaking slot during the Democratic National Convention in August. A month later, Suozzi told his supporters that people in Democratic circles have given him “a hard time” before because of his bipartisanship. “Yeah, I believe in bipartisanship, I believe in working together. That’s a very fundamental part of who I am,” he said. “I’m also a Democrat, and I want to win these races.” As he told City & State following that September speech, “I don’t think I could ever distance myself from the Democratic label.”