EXCLUSIVE: Trump-backed challenger gains labor union support in key race for House control

EXCLUSIVE: A Republican challenging a vulnerable Democratic incumbent in one of the nation’s most competitive House races is touting a key labor endorsement. 

Mike LiPetri, a former state assembly member backed by President Donald Trump, said support from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 138 reflects growing momentum behind his campaign. 

“I think you’ll see [more unions] fall in line with us knowing that we stand with the men and women who work hard to build our country,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital in an interview.

The endorsement from the 1,500-member union gives LiPetri a boost as he prepares for a rematch contest against Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who won back the suburban swing seat in 2024 after representing it from 2017 to 2023. 

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Local 138 Business Manager John Duffy praised LiPetri’s candidacy in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“We need leaders in Washington with guts — people who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves to get the job done, no excuses,” Duffy said. “Mike LiPetri is that guy and the men and women of Local 138 are with him all the way.” 

The support from the union comes as national Republicans, who view Suozzi as a top target, look to make gains in the district spanning parts of Long Island and Queens ahead of November’s elections. 

Trump carried Suozzi’s seat by just over four points in 2024, while LiPetri ran three points behind the incumbent lawmaker.

Republicans have largely united behind LiPetri, who is seeking to fend off a challenge from attorney Gregory Hach in the June 23 GOP primary. LiPetri is part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s flagship candidate program and is viewed as a top recruit.

“This seat can literally decide the fate of the majority,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital. 

“The president is all in on our race, he’s given us a ringing endorsement,” he added. “House leadership is all in on this race. Local leadership is also all in on this race.”

LiPetri also argued that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the presumptive GOP nominee against Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., would help drive Republican turnout on Long Island.

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The GOP challenger is also seeking to draw sharp contrasts with Suozzi on immigration, transgender issues and tax policy as he looks ahead to November. 

Suozzi, the co-chair of the centrist Problem Solvers Caucus, has branded himself as a staunch moderate. But LiPetri argued the incumbent has strayed from that image over the past year.

Suozzi notably joined Democrats in opposing additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) during the months-long standoff over immigration spending.

He initially backed a Department of Homeland Security funding bill in January but later publicly apologized for his vote, saying he “failed” to view the legislation as “a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE” amid backlash from the left over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis. Suozzi later adopted Democratic leadership’s position in pushing to pair any new funding with reforms to immigration enforcement.

“We have to have someone that stays strong with law enforcement,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital, arguing Suozzi had “betrayed” federal law enforcement officers with his votes.

Suozzi also voted with Democrats against legislation barring biological males from women’s sports in K-12 schools and against a bill to direct the construction of a women’s history museum on the National Mall. Some Democrats vigorously objected to the proposal because it excluded transgender people, and LiPetri argued Suozzi shared that view. 

“They’re going to have to explain to their voters why they believe this museum should not be built and why they believe that there should be transgender exhibits in it,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., the measure’s sponsor, said in May, referring to Democrats.

LiPetri also hammered Suozzi for his vote against Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which created new deductions for tips, overtime pay, and automobile loans.

“No tax on overtime was critical for union men and women,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital. “And they see who my opponent really is, someone that focuses on keeping his job rather than doing his job.”

Suozzi opposed Republicans’ budget law at the time over cuts to federal Medicaid spending and objections to extending lower tax rates for the highest earners, among other concerns.

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However, the GOP challenger still faces a steep fundraising climb against Suozzi. The New York Democrat has nearly $5.5 million in his campaign’s war chest compared to LiPetri’s roughly $727,000 cash on hand, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings.

LiPetri said his campaign is among the top fundraisers for GOP challengers nationwide. 

“We’re gonna keep pushing and raising our money to make sure our message gets out there,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital. “People are excited for what’s ahead.”

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race “Lean Democrat.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to Suozzi’s campaign before publication.