George Santos, who was booted from Congress in December and facing federal charges for scamming 2022 campaign contributors, is running for the House again.
Santos, a Republican who became the sixth House member ejected by his colleagues, announced Thursday night on X that he would challenge Republican Rep. Nick LaLota, who represents a different Long Island district.
Santos announced the move after attending President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech and mingling with former colleagues who voted to expel him after a scathing House Ethics Committee investigation.
that Santos, who had previously declared he would not run again, opted to oppose LaLota in New York's 1st Congressional District on eastern Long Island after “prayer and conversation” with friends and family. I will challenge Nick for #NY1 tonight, Santos announced.
Santos registered a campaign committee and declared his intention to fight LaLota in the June Republican primary with the Federal Election Commission. Santos expulsion leader LaLota stated, “I suspect that this primary challenge from Santos is retaliation for that, but we’re taking it seriously.”
He stated, “I think we’re going to run on a record of accountability, integrity, honor, providing a higher bar here in Congress to ensure that members who conduct themselves, regardless of party, do so with integrity. Santos, who acknowledged to lying about his job experience and academic education during his previous campaign, was derided by the eastern Long Island Republican Party head.
“The people have no appetite for this bad comedy show to continue,” Suffolk County GOP head Jesse Garcia said. His candidacy and petitions will be as credible as his Baruch College degree. A special election last month returned Santos' 2022 seat to Democrat Tom Suozzi, who had resigned to run for governor of New York.
Santos has denied lying to Congress about his wealth, getting undeserved unemployment benefits, and using campaign money to buy luxury clothes. A court has provisionally set the trial for September after the primary.
STAY TURNED FOR DEVELOPMENT