Democrats win another special election, and 4 more takeaways from New York's House race

Former Rep. Tom Suozzi will win back his old House seat in Tuesday's special election in New York's 3rd Congressional District, ABC News projects — extending his party's largely winning record in such races and further whittling down Republicans' tiny majority in the chamber.

Suozzi dispatched with Republican nominee Mazi Pilip to earn the seat, which encompasses parts of Long Island.

Their race was widely seen as offering the year's first notable clues about how voters, particularly in the suburbs and in swing areas, are feeling about key political issues and about President Joe Biden and down-ballot Democrats heading into November's general election.

At the same time, Tuesday was an off-schedule special election with relatively low turnout to replace disgraced Republican Rep. George Santos after his expulsion, and experts said the contest was shaped in part by local factors, likely limiting how much the results are indicative of voters across the country.

Here are five takeaways.

Once Suozzi takes office, Republicans will be able to afford only two defections on any vote in the 219-213 House, assuming full attendance and no Democrats voting with the GOP.

Republicans have already struggled to unite on major legislation, from funding the government to Ukraine aid to impeachment.

That was underscored when the House last week initially failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas because three Republicans voted against doing so and one Democrat returned from the hospital to vote the same day — an appearance that surprised Republicans.

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, an unlikely chief who won the role just months ago after a historically dysfunctional leadership fight in his party, will now have even