Mazi Melesa Pilip, the New York GOP-backed candidate chosen to run in an upcoming special election to fill the vacated seat left open by expelled former Rep. George Santos, has revealed she does not support a federal ban on abortion.
In an interview with Jewish Insider, Ms. Pilip, 44, discussed for the first time several of her stances, including her position on a national abortion ban and her thoughts on the GOP presidential candidates.
“Abortion is a very personal decision, OK?” she said. “Now, I am a religious person, I have seven children, so I am pro-life. However, I’m not going to push my own beliefs on any woman. Therefore, I’m not going to support a national abortion ban.”
Democrats jumped on Ms. Pilip’s response and said that New York GOP officials prevented her from responding to this question last week from another reporter, and that she is also running on New York’s Conservative Party platform which holds a more stringent view on abortion.
“Voters of New York Third’s Congressional District deserve to know where Mazi Melesa Pilip actually stands – and that’s with the New York State’s Conservative Party’s extreme platform to ban abortion,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Spokesperson Ellie Dougherty.
The special election is scheduled for Feb. 13, and Ms. Pilip will face off against former Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, who represented the district for three terms before leaving Congress in 2022 in a failed attempt to win the governor’s seat in New York.
Ms. Pilip is an Ethiopian-born Jew who is a Nassau County legislator and former Israel Defense Forces veteran. She clarified several policy positions following the GOP’s endorsement of her.
She withheld from endorsing any of the Republican presidential candidates during the primary cycle and said of former President Donald Trump’s federal legal indictments, “Trump has to go through his process. Nobody’s above the law.”
She said she would support whichever GOP candidate won the nomination.
Immediately following her selection by the Nassau County GOP, a photo of a smiling Ms. Pilip next to Mr. Santos went viral on social media. But Ms. Pilip shot back at the outlet that there is “no relationship with Santos, OK?” She added that she was one of the first Long Island GOP officials to call for his resignation.
Mr. Santos now faces multiple federal charges of campaign finance misconduct
“He lied to us. Everything he said was a lie,” Ms. Pilip said.
Ms. Pilip’s party loyalty was questioned, given that she was registered as a Democrat upon her nomination, however, she said her party affiliation was not a reflection of her own values.
“I came here to this country, I registered as a Democrat,” Ms. Pilip said. “But very quickly I realized that the Republican Party is the one who shares my values, and as a county legislator, if you really see my voting record, you will see that I am all about law enforcement, I’m all about public safety, I’m all about lowering taxes, and I’m all about securing our borders and creating safety. This is me.”
New York Republicans say they were aware of Ms. Pilip’s Democratic Party registration prior to choosing her to be their candidate
“I don’t mind changing it,” Ms. Pilip said. “I can change it at any time because it doesn’t have any meaning. The paper itself doesn’t have any meaning.”
Her name identification among political observers was nearly zero until recently when New York Republican leaders in Nassau County scrambled to choose her as a candidate.
Republicans nationwide celebrated Ms. Pilip, her remarkable biography, which re-ignited hopes she has a chance to hold New York’s 3rd Congressional district for Republicans in a slim GOP House majority. Democrats slammed her for initially remaining quiet on polarizing partisan issues.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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