Democrat Tom Suozzi will return to Congress at the end of the month after handily winning a special election for the New York seat formerly held by disgraced New York GOP Rep. George Santos. 

Suozzi, who defeated Republican Mazi Pilip by 8 points on Tuesday night, will be sworn into Congress on Feb. 28, according to a source familiar with the matter. He will serve the remainder of Santos’s term following Santos’s expulsion from the House in December. 

His election marks a blow to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who is already navigating a razor-thin majority in the lower chamber. Suozzi’s swearing-in will mean Johnson can only afford to lose two Republicans on any party-line vote.

But it’s also raised fresh questions about whether the party can hold on to the New York seats that delivered the speaker his majority in the first place. Santos, who stands accused of fraud and campaign finance violations, was one of several Republicans to flip blue seats in the state during the midterm elections.

Suozzi, who represented Santos’s district before running for governor in 2022, ran as a conservative Democrat aided by his name recognition on Long Island, but Democrats quickly seized on the victory to settle anxieties that President Joe Biden will be a drag down ballot in 2024. 

For now, his election is a matter of House math. He fills just one of four vacancies in Congress.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins stepped down last month, citing frustrations with Washington dysfunction, while two Republicans, Kevin McCarthy and Bill Johnson, resigned in December and January, respectively.

McCarthy left Congress following his historic ouster from the House speakership, while Bill Johnson accepted a job as the president of Youngstown State University.