Zak Malamed speaks about candidacy for George Santos’ seat
Zak Malamed, a Democrat running for the House seat of embattled U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), spoke with the Washington Blade by phone on Monday about his candidacy in what is expected to be one of the most consequential and closely watched congressional races of 2024. “My hometown congressional district will make the difference between whether Republicans or Democrats control the House,” in turn determining the fate of legislative protections for the LGBTQ community and solutions to tackle crises like gun violence and the scarcity of affordable housing, he said.
It is not enough, however, just to elect Democrats at a time that calls for a new generation of leadership, Malamed said, including for his would-be constituents whose elected representatives have included “complacent” members of Congress from his own party.
Prior to Santos, New York’s 3rd Congressional District was represented by Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who last year defended Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, calling the measure prohibiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity “reasonable” and “common sense.” Time reported in May that Suozzi, who has not declared plans to run, is “said to be among the party’s favorites for retaking the seat.” Eight months ahead of the Democratic primary, where he is slated to face off against four other hopefuls including a member of the Nassau County Legislature and a former New York state senator, Malamed said he has “out-raised the entire field.” This includes the lone Republican challenger who has entered the race as well as Santos, whose reelection campaign recently had to refund more to its donors than it had collected in contributions.
Running the only campaign that is not even partially self-funded, Malamed has also raised more than any candidate from either party vying to unseat the other three GOP incumbents whose House districts include Long Island: U.S.
