Special election to replace George Santos kicks off as Tom Souzzi and Mazi Pilip vie for seat - live

Mazi Melesa Pilip, a mother of seven and Nassau County legislator, was nominated by New York Republicans in December.

Born in Ethiopia, Pilip immigrated to Israel in 1991 and served in the IDF as a gunsmith in the paratrooper unit while earning degrees from the University of Haifa and Tel Aviv University. She later moved to the US with her husband. If elected, she would be the second Black Republican congresswoman.

Sticking close to tough Trump-style home affairs policies, Pilip said she would support securing the US border and building a wall, as well as tightening standards for asylum seekers and increasing the number of border patrol officers to clamp down on illegal migration.

In December, Mr Santos became only the sixth lawmaker ever to be expelled from the House of Congress after the release of a damning House Ethics Committee report.

Two months earlier, he was charged with a host of fraud and dishonesty offences including embezzling money from his campaign and lying to Congress about his wealth.

A few quips aside, Mr Santos has been largely anonymous in debates and campaign speeches by the two candidates.

One thing is clear: New York’s 3rd Congressional district is ready to move on from the embarrassment of the scandal-plagued, federally-indicted George Santos.