Down 4,000 Votes, U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi Confident: 'We Will Win'

GLEN COVE, NY — U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, the former Glen Cove mayor and former Nassau County executive seeking re-election in the 3rd Congressional District, was down about 4,000 votes a day before elections workers were to begin counting absentee ballots. But he's not letting the deficit discourage him.

"We will win. It will take 2 weeks," Suozzi, a Democrat, told friends, volunteers and supporters in an email Monday.

As Patch previously reported, in the months leading up to Election Day, Suozzi raised far more money than Republican opponent George A. D. Santos. With much of the vote left to count, Suozzi held just under 46 percent of the vote to Santos' 47 percent.

The 3rd Congressional District includes parts of eastern Queens, as well as all or parts of Great Neck, Port Washington, Glen Cove, Oyster Bay, Plainview, Hicksville, Bethpage, Old Westbury, Huntington, Northport, Kings Park, Commack and Melville.

Santos told Patch in a statement Monday the race remains razor-thin and accused Suozzi of lying to his constituents in prematurely declaring victory. Santos said his team is fighting hard to ensure every legal vote is counted.

"Our campaign was considered by many as the underdog in this race to beat a career politician like Tom Suozzi, yet here we are," Santos said. "Once all the ballots are counted, we remain confident that we will maintain our lead and finally unseat Rep. Suozzi."

Under state election law, New York's county election boards must wait at least a week after Election Day to begin counting absentee ballots. Ballots, including those from military service members overseas, must be postmarked by Election Day.

As of Friday, Suozzi said there were about 98,000 mail ballots to be counted, or roughly a quarter of the overall vote. About 52 percent were from registered Democrats compared to 19 percent from registered Republicans and 29 percent from registered independents and others. Suozzi's team is confident he will receive at least two-thirds of the outstanding ballots, but noted it will probably take two weeks before the full count is tabulated in his district, which includes parts of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens.

"I will keep you updated as the process continues," Suozzi said. "Once we celebrate our victory, let’s work together to unite our country and address the very real problems we face. Together as Americans!"