CNN’s S.E. Cupp said Wednesday that Tuesday’s win for Democrats in the New York special election is still “not good” for the party or the president.
Former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi won the special election Tuesday night to replace ousted Republican Rep. George Santos in New York. Suozzi beat Republican nominee Maxi Melesa Pilip 58.7% to 41.3% for the state’s third congressional district. Santos was expelled from Congress after he racked up two indictments over allegations of fraud and a House Ethics Committee report was released.
But Cupp said it’s not a win without issues.
“What should Democrats, what should the Biden campaign be looking at this suburban district and say, this is our takeaway from this, this is what we’re learning?” host Phil Mattingly asked. (RELATED: Dems Get Over $700k In Support From Environmental Group In Bid To Win Vacant House Seat)
“It’s not good,” Cupp said bluntly. “In fact, as you mentioned Poppy, [Suozzi] told Biden not to come and was critical of Biden on the trail saying, ‘look, his age is a problem and I don’t even know if he’ll stick it out.’ I mean, that’s sacrilege for Democrats in some parts of the country. He said that in New York. And he ran as a centrist and he even said, ‘I’ve been running against my party for a long time. I’m a moderate. We need centrism when Democrats swing too far to the left, they get too extreme. We run into problems.’ He was pro-Israel. He was, as you said, an immigration hawk, talked about crime, he said Democrats need to acknowledge those problems.”
“That’s how you win with an unpopular president. And that’s not great news for Biden. That’s maybe not great news for some progressives. Again, special election, unique circumstances. But that’s a playbook, and for the Republicans, I think Mitch McConnell coined this term a while ago, candidate quality matters. Now Pilip wasn’t a kook, but she wasn’t a household name. She had some very confusing policies that she struggled to explain,” Cupp continued, arguing Pilip didn’t seem to be the best candidate.
Fellow panelist and former New York Rep. Max Rose jumped in to argue Tuesday’s results were a “tremendous” win for the Democrats, prompting some back and forth.