Former President Trump rips Black female Republican congressional candidate who lost a key special election
The setback for the GOP in a closely watched special congressional election in the suburbs of New York City has provided GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley with more ammunition against the current frontrunner, former President Trump.
“Let’s be frank. Donald Trump remains a significant liability for Republican candidates,” stated Olivia Perez-Cubas, national spokesperson for the Haley campaign. “Despite the clear failures of Joe Biden, we have once again lost a winnable Republican House seat because voters overwhelmingly reject Donald Trump.”
Perez-Cubas asserted that “until Republicans recognize this reality, we will continue to suffer losses. It’s time for a new generation of conservative leadership that resonates with the American people.”
Pointing to GOP setbacks in the 2018, 2020, and 2022 elections, Haley has consistently argued that Republicans are weary of experiencing losses under Trump, a central theme of her campaign speeches. She has been actively campaigning in South Carolina, where she served two terms as governor before joining the Trump administration as ambassador to the U.N.
In the recent special election, former Democratic Representative Tom Suozzi emerged victorious over GOP county lawmaker Mazi Pilip to fill a vacant House seat once held by former Republican Representative George Santos, who was expelled from the chamber in December.
Trump is set to return to South Carolina on Wednesday to host a rally in North Charleston, just 10 days ahead of the state’s Republican presidential primary.
After securing double-digit victories in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, along with landslide wins in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the former president is edging closer to clinching the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Recent polls indicate that he maintains a substantial double-digit lead in the latest public opinion surveys in the Palmetto State over Haley, his primary remaining major rival.
Facing a challenging path to challenge Trump’s dominance, Haley has been intensifying her criticism of the former president in recent weeks. On Tuesday, her campaign unveiled a new TV ad highlighting the “chaos” that could result if Trump returns to the White House. Additionally, Haley is reiterating her assertions that Trump is “unhinged.”
With the GOP narrowly holding onto a majority in the House, both national Republicans and Democrats heavily invested in a closely contested race. Immigration, border security, crime, and abortion emerged as the top issues in the race, which was viewed as a significant indicator leading up to the highly anticipated November White House rematch between Trump and President Biden.
The Long Island district, which had been under Democratic control for a decade, was flipped by Santos in the 2022 midterms. However, Santos was ousted from Congress less than a year into his term after being exposed for fabricating his background and facing indictment for various financial crimes.
Suozzi, who previously served the district for six years before an unsuccessful run for governor, consistently linked Pilip to Santos and Trump throughout the campaign.
With Suozzi’s swearing-in, the Republican majority in the House has slipped to 219-213, putting the GOP’s control of the chamber at greater risk.
Pilip, an Ethiopian Jew who fled persecution and served in the Israeli military before immigrating to the United States, was previously a Democrat. She argued that the party had “left me and many others” and consistently tied Suozzi to Biden while blaming her opponent for the migrant crisis.
Following her defeat, Pilip received praise from Nassau County Republicans on Tuesday evening. However, Trump criticized her in a late-night social media post, labeling her a “foolish woman” and attributing her loss to her failure to endorse him.
“Republicans just don’t seem to learn, but perhaps she was still a Democrat? I have an almost 99% success rate with endorsements in primaries, and a very good track record in general elections as well. Yet, I witnessed this very foolish woman, Mazi Melesa Pilip, running in a race without endorsing me and attempting to ‘straddle the fence,’ when she could have easily WON if she understood anything about modern-day politics in America,” Trump argued on his Truth Social platform.
After a two-month absence from campaigning in person in South Carolina, Wednesday’s rally marks Trump’s second appearance in the state within four days.
Haley has been energetically campaigning in her home state and launched a bus tour this past weekend. However, she is scheduled to visit Texas on Thursday and Friday for fundraising events and campaign stops ahead of the Republican nominating contests held in 15 states on Super Tuesday in early March.
Last week, Haley conducted fundraising activities and campaign events in California, another significant Super Tuesday state. These visits to Texas and California appear to be strategic moves by Haley as she resists calls from some Republicans to withdraw from the race and allow Trump to concentrate on challenging Biden in November.