CNN's Van Jones Mocks Donald Trump for Republicans Losing New York Special Election By Sowing Distrust in Early Voting
Feb. 14 2024, Published 12:30 p.m. ET
In a recent special election to replace expelled former Republican New York Representative George Santos, Democratic candidate and Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi emerged victorious over Republican candidate Mazi Pilip.
The election result is a significant blow to the Republican Party, and CNN's Van Jones highlighted the ramifications of former President Donald Trump's strategy of sowing distrust in early voting, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Republican analyst Scott Jennings, during CNN's coverage of the New York 3rd District Special Election, raised concerns about the impact of early voting and poor weather conditions on the race. He noted that the Democrats seemed to have an advantage in the early voting results from Nassau County, an area where Republicans needed to perform well.
Anderson Cooper was quick to acknowledge the strategic mistake made by Republicans in undermining early voting. Jones chimed in criticizing the Republicans for adopting a losing strategy, questioning if there was someone with a perpetual losing streak who might have given such a misguided idea — mocking Trump and his strategy from the 2020 presidential election.
Jennings, admitting to the blunder, stressed the importance of voting and urged Republicans to get their votes in as early as possible. However, the damage seemed to have already been done in the New York special election, as the early voting results favored the Democratic candidate substantially.
Suozzi won the House seat once filled by Santos with 91,338 votes, 53.9% of the vote, while the Republican candidate only raked in 78,229 at 46.1%.
The election results have now narrowed the GOP's lead in the House of Representatives.
Suozzi, a former House member, faced Republican Pilip, a Nassau County legislator and Ethiopian immigrant who served in the Israel Defense Forces.
The outcome of this special election sends a strong message to the Republican Party about the significance of early voting and the importance of broadening their voter base. Several political commentators believe the former president may have inadvertently disadvantaged his own party by creating a culture of doubt and suspicion around early voting.
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Trump took to Truth Social in response to the election, blaming the Republican candidate's loss on her for not endorsing him for 2024.
"Republicans just don’t learn, but maybe she was still a Democrat?" The former president shared to his 6.6 million followers. "I have an almost 99% Endorsement Success Rate in Primaries, and a very good number in the General Elections, as well, but just watched this very foolish woman, Mazi Melesa Pilip, running in a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to 'straddle the fence,' when she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America."