George Santos, a former Rep. from New York, has exited from the race to represent New York’s First Congressional District.
He said he was concerned that running independently would take votes from Republicans and help a Democrat win the district.
In December, Santos was kicked out of the House due to evidence of his involvement in fraud. He announced his campaign for this November just after last month’s State of the Union address. He stated that he would run in New York’s First Congressional District, switching after a Democrat won his previous district.
Santos was in Congress representing New York’s Third Congressional District. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY), who currently represents New York’s First Congressional District, was part of a group of New York Republicans who led the effort to expel Santos. The First district is near the Third and includes less densely populated areas of eastern Long Island.
“I don’t want my run to be portrayed as reprisal against Nick Lalota… Although Nick and I don’t have the same voting record and I remain critical of his abysmal record, I don’t want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems,” Santos wrote in announcing the end of his campaign. LaLota won by eleven percentage points in 2022.
Santos also blamed “the rise of antisemitism in our country” as a reason for dropping out of the race, arguing that Democrats are antisemitic and helping a Democrat get into Congress would increase that antisemitism.
“Staying in this race all but guarantees a victory for the Dems in the race,” he wrote. “The future holds countless possibilities and I am ready willing and able to step up to the plate and go fight for my country at anytime.”
“It’s only goodbye for now, I’ll be back.”
Santos currently faces a total of 23 federal criminal charges related to various alleged schemes to enrich himself at the expense of taxpayers and campaign donors.
