Potential Santos replacement says she can battle the 'Squad' and win
The expulsion of former New York Rep. George Santos threw the future of the state's 3rd Congressional District into limbo, but Republican candidate Mazi Melesa Philip has since emerged to declare herself the best hope the GOP has to defeat the influence of progressive “Squad,” as Fox News reports.
Armed with a fascinating personal story that includes her status as an immigrant, a mother, a wife, an Ethiopian Jew, and a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces, Pilip is making her case to potential constituents ready to move on from the chaos of Santos' tenure.
Taking the fight to the left
Pilip is currently engaged in a battle with former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi in the lead-up to a special election slated for Feb. 11.
A relative political newcomer, Pilip still feels confident in her ability to fight back against Suozzi's acknowledged advantages in fundraising and in name recognition among area voters.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, she said, “You know what, Suozzi? Suozzi is a great politician. He's absolutely a talker.”
Suggesting that her opponent is not being candid with voters about his true positions, Pilip added, “He is playing a game of 'I am a moderate.' He's not.”
Tackling the Squad
Of significant interest to Pilip is working to combat what she feels is the blatant antisemitism of far-left lawmakers such as Democrat Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DNY), Cori Bush (MO), Ilhan Omar (MN), and Rashida Tlaib.
Citing her own past living in Israel in the early 2000s, when the second intifada was raging, Pilip stands prepared to confront the hatred she sees in a direct and forceful manner.
“I know the far. My family is living this life. I know how bad and what the Israeli citizens right now are going through,” she said, referencing the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Pilip is, she believes, “the only one who can speak really against the Squad, who are causing so much problems for us as a nation here, and especially about Israel.”
Intersectional Republican
Expressing incredulity at what she has seen on college campuses and elsewhere since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted, Pilip said, “here we go when this is happening to the Jewish students, all of the sudden, that's OK. And I'm here to say that's not OK. And I'm here to say it as a Black person, OK, as an immigrant, as a woman, as a Jew. I'm here to draw the line.”
Clearly, far-left Democrats do not hold a monopoly on descriptive intersectionality, and Pilip's groundbreaking campaign will certainly have all eyes on it this February given its status as a possible bellwether for November.
