Suozzi: Democrats Win When They Talk About Common Sense Issues, Focus on Core Democratic Values and Avoid Far-Left Distractions
Glen Cove, NY – In the November 5th general election, Congressman Tom Suozzi won re-election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, defeating his opponent by more than 11,000 votes. In contrast, President-elect Donald Trump won the same district by 18,000 votes, underscoring the strength of Suozzi’s focus on ‘common sense solutions,’ border security, taxes and bipartisanship. In unofficial returns, Suozzi is set to rank third in the nation of Democratic congressional candidates over performing.
Earlier this year, Suozzi won the special election to replace expelled George Santos by focusing on a message of tackling the immigration crisis, instead of ignoring the issue, as was advised to him by many in the Party.
Suozzi, who has a long record of using bipartisan, common-sense solutions as the basis of his governing and campaign priorities, was endorsed in his re-election campaign by his local Police Benevolent Association, a highly unusual move for the Republican-leaning police union, while also receiving endorsements from environmental, labor and gun violence prevention organizations and top rankings for his voting record from reproductive freedom and LGBT rights groups.
Earlier this year, Suozzi warned Democrats that the Party was “losing its way,” shifting leftward away from historic Democratic concerns such as wages, benefits, the cost of living and public safety.
He was concerned that extremists in both parties got all the attention for prioritizing their agendas of cultural wars and identity politics.
After the recent election, the New York Times, reported on Suozzi’s warnings:
“We all need to take a deep breath and wake up,” said Representative Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, who barely held onto his Queens and Nassau swing seat by outperforming Ms. Harris.
He argued that Democrats succeeded in the down-ballot races because they were able to separate themselves from the party’s recent liberal positions on immigration, crime and the economy and out-organize Republicans.
But while progressives began arguing Wednesday that the party needed to tack further left after Ms. Harris’s national loss, Mr. Suozzi worried aloud that its problem in New York still lay with moderate and independent voters who believe Democrats do not care about their problems.”
Subsequently, Suozzi posted on X, formerly Twitter, on November 7th:
“In this election, Americans have made their voice clear: Democrats need to focus more on issues Americans care about, like wages and benefits, and less on being politically correct. Moderate White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, union, non-union, and other voters fear that the world we live in and the values we live by are under threat, and Democrats have been too intimidated to speak up for the same values that many of us hold dear — the American Dream, public safety and a common sense of right and wrong among them.
Many Americans are simply afraid of “the Left” more than they are afraid of what President Trump will do. While some Democrats effectively responded to Republican’s claims of chaos at the Southern border, we still ceded too much ground to the Republicans on an issue we could have won. And we failed as a party to respond to the Republican weaponization of anarchy on college campuses, defund the police, biological boys playing in girls’ sports, and a general attack on traditional values.
Going forward, we need to make the case every day that we will fight to give everyone a fair shake and that America is for everybody. We cannot get wrapped around the axle by our base and resistance politics.”
“It is undeniable that there are very, very few instances of biological boys playing in girls’ sports, and ‘defund the police’ was rarely ever said,” said Suozzi, “However, the fact is that few elected officials are willing to speak out against issues such as these, for fear of retaliation from the extremists- even though the vast majority of mainstream America do not agree with these positions.
“As Democrats, we must be able to have these conversations without being intimidated by the extremists. We must meet Americans where they are instead of lecturing them with condescension, or we will continue to lose elections.”