As Dems focus on abortion, veteran Long Island pol Suozzi faces dilemma

As Democrats gear up to focus much of next year’s presidential election on abortion rights, an unlikely messenger on the issue is emerging in what will be one of the country’s most high-profile congressional races.

That person is former Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi, who for years has staked out what critics view as anti-abortion compromises that run counter to the position Democrats have adopted in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Abortion access has become a winning strategy for Democrats across the country, sealing victories in red-leaning states.

And it’s one reason progressives — and even some moderate Democrats — are wary of Suozzi’s run at his old 3rd Congressional District seat given his record opposing partial birth abortions, reluctance to roll-back restrictions on Medicaid-funding for abortions and financial support of abstinence-based sex ed in churches.

“He better pivot fast,” Democratic consultant Camille Rivera recommended. “He’s gotta tighten his message.”

Suozzi’s message on abortion will be critical, Rivera said, not only for his own run, but for fellow Democrats.

“The strategy has to be how do we get a federal law in place to codify it,” she said. “If he doesn’t clean up his message, he’s leaving tons of votes on the table, and it could be detrimental to the entire Democratic conference.”

Suozzi supports legalized abortion and has received 100% ratings from Planned Parenthood in years past, but critics — including rival Anna Kaplan — have also pointed to positions on abortion that they view as outside the Democratic mainstream.

Suozzi declined to comment for this story, but one of his top advisers, Kim Devlin, said handling himself on the issue is nothing new for her boss.

“Tom has been primaried or attacked from the left on abortion every year he ran for Congress. It doesn’t hit. He has 100% rating from Planned Parenthood,” she said. “He has always been clear that he believes abortion should be safe and legal. He is exactly where the people of the third district are on this.”

Suozzi rose to power on Long Island, which ceded several seats to Republicans in the past congressional election. He is now preparing to run for his old seat currently occupied by Rep. George Santos, who could be expelled from Congress as early as this week for an infamous pattern of lying. Santos has already said he will not seek re-election.

In the event he’s expelled or resigns, Gov. Hochul is expected to declare a special election, which will prompt state political leaders to select their party’s candidates.

For Jay Jacobs, who heads the state’s Democratic Party and is a longtime ally of the former Long Island congressman, all indications are pointing to Suozzi as his top pick.

Rivera described Jacobs and Suozzi as extremely close, saying there’s “no air” between the two. Given that, she predicted Suozzi will emerge as the Democrat running for Santos’ seat in the event of a special election — and in a straight primary contest as well.

Steve Israel, a Democrat who represented the congressional district before both Suozzi and Santos, said whoever runs would be wise to focus on both abortion and public safety.

“No matter who the candidate is, regardless of party, you can’t take this district for granted,” he said.

Suozzi, who served as Nassau County executive before ascending to the House in 2017, opted to relinquish his congressional seat in favor or mounting a failed bid for governor in 2022, which helped pave the way for Santos, a Republican, to win the seat.

The public record on Suozzi’s abortion stances is long. But over the years, he’s been challenged in primaries from the left more than once on the issue — and at least in his former congressional district, he came out ahead. That doesn’t mean it’s always been a winning formula, though.

During his gubernatorial run, Hochul criticized Suozzi for refusing to support the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds, including Medicaid, to be used for abortions.

“I don’t think that the right to have an abortion should be reserved only for wealthy women,” Hochul said during the debate.

Years prior to that exchange, Suozzi said in video clip posted in 2017, that he wanted to make abortions more “rare” but that “I don’t know that I would want to get rid of the Hyde Amendment,” saying at the time he’d have to do more research on the matter.