The Nassau County GOP has selected former state Assemblyman Mike LiPetri as the Republican candidate to run against recently elected Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) in the November congressional race for New York’s 3rd District.
Farmingdale’s LiPetri, 33, was selected because he is a “proven vote-getter,” Nassau County GOP Chairman Joe Cairo told Newsday. He also told Newsday that LiPetri is “the right person to take the task on now.”
LiPetri will face off against the other Republican candidates in a June 25 primary.
LiPetri represented New York’s 9th District in the state’s assembly from 2019-2021, only serving one term in the seat.
He unsuccessfully ran in the 2020 race for New York’s 2nd Congressional District, losing in the primary election to later elected Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport).
LiPetri is the managing director of the lobbying firm Park Strategies LLC. The firm was founded by former Republican Sen. Alfonse D’Amato.
The Republican candidate told Newsday that he does not support a national abortion ban but would not move to codify Roe v. Wade.
According to Newsday, the county GOP selected LiPetri from a pool of 20 candidates, which didn’t include former Republican congressional candidate Mazi Pilip who decided not to run again.
Pilip, who represents Nassau County District 10, faced off against Suozzi ina February special election to finish the term of expelled representative George Santos, but failed to secure enough votes to maintain the district’s red status.
Suozzi was sworn into the House on Feb. 28 and will finish the term left by Santos through the end of the year. He is campaigning to be re-elected to the seat, which he previously held before Santos, for another full term.
Recently approved district maps by the state’s legislature have altered the 3rd Congressional District, which was redrawn to exclude Republican-dominated Massapequa and gain parts of Huntington and Huntington Station.
This change is expected to improve Suozzi’s chances in the fall when all House seats come up for a vote.
Facing off against LiPetri in the Republican primary is Greg Hach, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran and personal injury lawyer, who denounced the selection of LiPetri by the party.
“We are bitterly surprised that another anti-Trumper, former Assemblyman Michael LiPetri, has been anointed by the local back-room political machine as its pick to run against Rep. Tom Suozzi (NY-3),” Hach said in a press release. “Needless to say, voters can expect a hard-fought Republican primary over the coming months.
LiPetri told the publication that he plans to vote for Donald Trump in the presidential election come November.
Hach also criticized LiPetris for his financial connections to Santos.
The New York Times reported last summer that LiPetri had engaged in a business deal with the former representative that was not carried out, which he had told them he was involved with to a small degree.
The House Majority PAC, a super PAC that works to elect Democratic candidates to the House of Representatives, also criticized LePitri for his financial connections to Santos as well as his other policies and stances.
The PAC said while he served in the assembly, LePitri was one of the three state legislators to vote against the “Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act,” which criminalizes police officers’ harmful use of chokeholds.
Other criticisms by the PAC included his endorsement by the NRA in his congressional campaign, policy opinion for zero regulations on firearms and anti-vaccination stance.
“The Nassau GOP has outdone themselves by backing Mike LiPetri when just last month the people of NY-03 made it clear that they want honest, responsible representation from a steady hand and a trusted leader by electing Rep. Tom Suozzi,” House Majority PAC NY press secretary Alisha Heng said. “LiPetri’s unhinged extremist record will be swiftly rejected in November when voters re-elect Rep. Tom Suozzi.”
