The House Democrats’ campaign arm in a new ad label New York congressional candidate Mazi Melesa Pilip as “part of the extreme wing of the Republican party” as she runs in the special election for the former Rep. George Santos’s (R-N.Y.) seat.
“Pilip is part of the extreme wing of the Republican Party that wants to take away your rights and benefits. They’d ban abortion even in New York, even in cases of rape or incest. And make massive cuts to Social Security,” alleges the new ad from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
Santos was expelled from the House last year after multiple controversies plagued his first term, triggering a special election in the Empire State.
Democrats have argued Pilip was “hand-picked” by the “MAGA Republican movement.” She’s running against Democratic former Rep. Tom Suozzi in the Feb. 13 contest.
Backed by the Republican Jewish Coalition and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Pilip is Republicans’ pick to keep the New York seat in GOP control.
The NRCC also dropped a new ad on Wednesday hitting Suozzi over immigration and crime, labeling him an “open border radical.”
“A crisis on our border, murder in our streets, because of radicals like Tom Suozzi,” says a voiceover in the video, which a spokesperson said is the first independent expenditure ad from Republicans in the race.
The latest DCCC TV ad is the group’s second in the special election and is airing on broadcast and cable in the New York City media market starting Wednesday, according to a release.
Punchbowl News first reported on the ad.