Exclusive: The DCCC is back on the air in the New York media market with a new ad criticizing GOP candidate Mazi Melesa Pilip as “part of the extreme wing of the Republican Party.”
Pilip is running against former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) in the Feb. 13 special election to fill former Rep. George Santos’ (R-N.Y.) Long Island-area seat. Given the razor-thin GOP House majority, the special election has massive stakes — and Democrats are investing heavily.
The new spot is another example of Democrats tying Pilip to the agenda of other Republican groups.
“They’d ban abortion even in New York, even in cases of rape or incest,” the ad’s narrator says, referring to the New York Conservative Party’s platform. “And make massive cuts to Social Security.”
Pilip is running on the Conservative Party line in the election but has told reporters she would oppose a national abortion ban.
The ad also accuses Pilip of dodging questions about her beliefs during the campaign.
Shri Thanedar’s primary opponent’s Q4 haul: Former Michigan state Sen. Adam Hollier, a Democrat primarying Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), raised $444,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023. Hollier has $410,000 on hand. It’s a sizable tally for a Democrat challenging an incumbent and is the latest sign that Thanedar will face a tough reelection test this year.
Thanedar is a freshman who succeeded former Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.) in the Detroit-area seat. Hollier narrowly lost to Thanedar in the crowded 2022 primary by roughly 4,000 votes.
This time around, Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and Lawrence have endorsed Hollier over Thanedar. The incumbent, however, is a wealthy entrepreneur with the ability to self-fund his campaign.
— Max Cohen
