Suozzi, LiPetri prepare for high-stakes rematch in New York's 3rd Congressional District
Millions of dollars are pouring into one of the nation's most competitive House races as Rep. Tom Suozzi and challenger Mike LiPetri get set to face off in a News 12 debate.
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One of the most competitive and expensive congressional races in the country is headed for another showdown.
Incumbent Rep. Tom Suozzi and Republican challenger Mike LiPetri, opponents in New York's 3rd Congressional District race, will meet Tuesday night in a News 12 debate. The matchup is a rematch of their previous contest, which LiPetri narrowly lost.
Despite the sharp attacks dominating campaign advertisements, the two candidates struck a cordial tone during a recent community forum in Plainview, where they met with a couple dozen voters.
The incumbent and his challenger appeared focused on hearing voters' concerns and were civil with one another during the event.
"Mike, thank you so much. What you said was positive, and that's the way we should be running our campaigns," Suozzi said during the forum.
That atmosphere stands in stark contrast to the messages voters are seeing in campaign commercials.
A television ad from Suozzi's campaign describes LiPetri as a "Trump lackey" who is "ready to do Trump's bidding."
Meanwhile, an ad from LiPetri's campaign argues that after "three decades in public office, Tom Suozzi's top priority isn't you."
Millions of dollars are being spent in the race as both parties view the district as highly competitive.
The campaign arm for congressional Republicans is backing LiPetri heavily in an effort to flip the seat from Democratic control. Republicans see the district as a key pickup opportunity in an election cycle where the party is defending seats elsewhere across the country.
Suozzi said he expected the outside spending and believes voters know his record.
"They spend a lot of money against me, it's not gonna work. The people know me, they know I'm fighting for them. I'm not fighting for some crazy agenda," Suozzi said.
The congressman has a sizable campaign war chest of his own and has used those resources to target LiPetri.
LiPetri, who came within 3 percentage points of defeating Suozzi in 2024, said voters are ready for a new generation of leadership.
"I think it's really important that we have the next generation in there, to actually change it up, rather than the people who have just been voting along party lines, we need to remove those," LiPetri said.
The candidates will have an opportunity to make their case directly to voters when they meet for Tuesday night's News 12 debate.
