New York Democrats delay picking candidate for ex-Rep. George Santos seat to eye options

New York Democratic leaders have delayed announcing their candidate to vie for the empty congressional seat held by disgraced ex-Rep. George Santos until Thursday at least.

Party chief Jay Jacobs, who doubles as Nassau County boss, said Monday that leaders want to spend a couple more days deciding on their nominee for a looming special election to fill New York's 3rd District seat, left vacant by the expulsion of Santos.

Insiders have said ex-Rep. Tom Suozzi is a sure thing to get the Democratic nomination in what is likely to be a tough race to flip the seat in a marquee political matchup in the dead of winter.

But Jacobs, who is the effective decision-maker along with fellow party leaders Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Rep. Greg Meeks and Gov. Kathy Hochul, insisted that nothing is set in stone yet.

“Regardless of what you may have heard, this is not going to be an anointment of anyone,” Jacobs said. “The governor wants to make sure we vet the candidates carefully and come up with the best person.”

Democratic leaders had earlier vowed to unveil their hand-picked nominee by Tuesday. So they may now be seeking to send a message to Suozzi by delaying any announcement by at least 48 hours.

Aside from Suozzi, one top contender is ex-state Sen. Anna Kaplan. Jacobs said leaders are eyeing “three or four” options.

Kaplan, a Jewish immigrant from Iran, took a measured shot at Suozzi for abandoning the seat to mount an ill-fated primary challenge to Hochul in last year’s governor’s race.

“He left the seat saying he didn’t want to be a part of Congress,” Kaplan said on CNN.

Republicans have said they intend to spend most of this week interviewing and vetting up to 20 wannabe lawmakers.

Among the potential GOP candidates are Nassau County legislator Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian-Israeli immigrant; state Sen. Jack Martins; Air Force veteran Kellen Curry; and retired NYPD Detective Mike Sapraicone.

As for Santos, he spent much of the weekend tweeting bile at fellow New York Republicans, whom he blames for engineering his ouster.

The House voted by 311-114 to expel Santos, the first lawmaker since the Civil War to be booted without being convicted of a crime. He is awaiting trial on federal campaign finance, theft and fraud charges.

Under special election rules, party leaders pick their candidates without going through a primary election.

Hochul has a week to set a date for the vote, which must be between 70 and 80 days from the announcement, putting the election in late February. The winner would fill the seat for the rest of Santos’s original two-year term.

Candidates on both parties can vie for the seat in a regular primary election and a general election in November for a fresh two-year term.

Whoever wins the seat in the special would be a strong favorite to win their party’s nod for the general election while the loser would be unlikely to get another bite at the apple.

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