Mazi Pilip, Republican running to replace George Santos, receives endorsements from 12 police unions

Mazi Melesa Pilip, the Republican candidate running to replace former New York GOP Rep. George Santos in a special election Tuesday, said she received the endorsements of a dozen city and county police unions, although her opponent, former New York Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, disparaged the support. 

"Those same police unions endorsed George Santos and I don’t think we should use that as an arbiter for this election," Suozzi said, The Epoch Times reported Saturday. 

The election is scheduled for Feb. 13 after Congress expelled Santos from office in early December as he faced multiple federal charges and a House Ethics Committee probe that found evidence he allegedly misused campaign funds. 

Suozzi had lost his seat to Santos in the 2022 midterm election, and a poll last week showed he is ahead of Pilip 48% to 44%, with 7% of likely voters still undecided. 

Pilip said Friday that she received the endorsements of the New York Police Department, several Nassau County-based law enforcement unions, and various other New York law enforcement groups.

She also received the endorsement of the National Border Patrol Council. Pilip said on X, formerly Twitter, that the Border Patrol union endorsed her "because their members know that I will secure the border and clean up the Suozzi/Biden Sanctuary City mess."

Pilip is an Israeli-American Orthodox Jew who was born in Ethiopia and later served in the Israel Defense Forces Paratroopers Brigade before moving to New York.

After she voted early in the election for herself, Pilip said, "It just took me back 30 years … that I am little Mazi from a village in Ethiopia running for Congress and voting for myself. ... This is the American dream. It was very, very emotional, very special, and just God bless America."

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