Expelled New York Republican congressman George Santos said he will again run for office, this time against one of the Republicans who helped oust him in a historic, bipartisan congressional vote last year.
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Paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday indicates Santos will run for the Republican-leaning 1st Congressional District, a suburban seat in Suffolk, Long Island, represented by Rep. Nick LaLota (R). That district is farther east and more Republican-leaning than the nearby district that elected Santos in 2022.
The House voted to expel Santos in December — an action the chamber had previously taken only five times in U.S. history, and not for more than 20 years — in response to an array of alleged crimes and ethical lapses that came to light after the freshman lawmaker was found to have fabricated key parts of his biography.
The vote followed the release of a House Ethics Committee report that accused Santos of an array of misconduct, including stealing money from his campaign, deceiving donors about how contributions would be used, creating fictitious loans and engaging in fraudulent business dealings. Santos, the report alleges, spent hefty sums on personal enrichment, including visits to spas and casinos, shopping trips to high-end stores, and payments to a subscription site that contains adult content. Santos, who has denied wrongdoing, also faces 23 federal criminal counts, including fraud, money laundering, falsifying records and aggravated identity theft. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.
After Santos was expelled, Democrat Tom Suozzi won a special election to the seat in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which he held for three terms before giving it up to run for governor.
Santos mocked LaLota and other Republican colleagues for the GOP’s loss in the special election and shrinking the party’s already narrow majority in the House.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=mc_magnet-george-santos_inline_collection_20
A voice message left on Santos’s cellphone Thursday night and an email sent to the person listed as his campaign treasurer were not immediately returned.
“To raise the standard in Congress, and to hold a pathological liar who stole an election accountable, I led the charge to expel George Santos,” LaLota said in a statement posted on X, which included a link to donate to his campaign. “If finishing the job requires beating him in a primary, count me in.”
Former CNN host John Avlon is among the Democrats running for the 1st Congressional District and welcomed the chance to face Santos in a social media post.
“Looks like the circus just came to NY-01,” Avlon wrote on X. “George Santos filed to primary Nick LaLota. Whatever the result — serial liar or Trump flunky — my response is the same: Bring It On.”
Santos’s filing came as he made a surprise visit to the Capitol where his former colleagues were gathered for President Biden’s State of the Union address. As a former House member, Santos retains certain privileges, including access to the House floor. Republican House staffers at one point before Biden’s speech asked Santos to move from the seat he had taken and to stand in the back to make room for current members, according to a CNN report.
After his historic expulsion, Santos attempted to cash in on his infamy. He opened an account on Cameo and quickly earned “six figures” by making short personalized videos for a fee, Semafor reported. As of Thursday night, Santos’s rate for a video was $350.
Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter.
Paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday indicates Santos will run for the Republican-leaning 1st Congressional District, a suburban seat in Suffolk, Long Island, represented by Rep. Nick LaLota (R). That district is farther east and more Republican-leaning than the nearby district that elected Santos in 2022.
The House voted to expel Santos in December — an action the chamber had previously taken only five times in U.S. history, and not for more than 20 years — in response to an array of alleged crimes and ethical lapses that came to light after the freshman lawmaker was found to have fabricated key parts of his biography.
The vote followed the release of a House Ethics Committee report that accused Santos of an array of misconduct, including stealing money from his campaign, deceiving donors about how contributions would be used, creating fictitious loans and engaging in fraudulent business dealings. Santos, the report alleges, spent hefty sums on personal enrichment, including visits to spas and casinos, shopping trips to high-end stores, and payments to a subscription site that contains adult content. Santos, who has denied wrongdoing, also faces 23 federal criminal counts, including fraud, money laundering, falsifying records and aggravated identity theft. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.
After Santos was expelled, Democrat Tom Suozzi won a special election to the seat in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which he held for three terms before giving it up to run for governor.
Santos mocked LaLota and other Republican colleagues for the GOP’s loss in the special election and shrinking the party’s already narrow majority in the House.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=mc_magnet-george-santos_inline_collection_20
A voice message left on Santos’s cellphone Thursday night and an email sent to the person listed as his campaign treasurer were not immediately returned.
“To raise the standard in Congress, and to hold a pathological liar who stole an election accountable, I led the charge to expel George Santos,” LaLota said in a statement posted on X, which included a link to donate to his campaign. “If finishing the job requires beating him in a primary, count me in.”
Former CNN host John Avlon is among the Democrats running for the 1st Congressional District and welcomed the chance to face Santos in a social media post.
“Looks like the circus just came to NY-01,” Avlon wrote on X. “George Santos filed to primary Nick LaLota. Whatever the result — serial liar or Trump flunky — my response is the same: Bring It On.”
Santos’s filing came as he made a surprise visit to the Capitol where his former colleagues were gathered for President Biden’s State of the Union address. As a former House member, Santos retains certain privileges, including access to the House floor. Republican House staffers at one point before Biden’s speech asked Santos to move from the seat he had taken and to stand in the back to make room for current members, according to a CNN report.
After his historic expulsion, Santos attempted to cash in on his infamy. He opened an account on Cameo and quickly earned “six figures” by making short personalized videos for a fee, Semafor reported. As of Thursday night, Santos’s rate for a video was $350.
