Former GOP representative George Santos announced Tuesday he is withdrawing his independent run for New York’s first congressional district after he was expelled from the chamber in December following a series of scandals.
Framing the suspended bid as a service to the Republican majority, Santos wrote on X, “I don’t want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems. . . .”
Santos was ousted from the House following the release of a damning report from the bipartisan House Ethics committee that found “substantial evidence” of him having committed criminal wrongdoing. One of only five members to be booted from the chamber in U.S. history, Santos had pleaded not guilty to a 23-count superseding indictment including charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft.
The embattled congressman’s vacant seat was filled in February by former Democratic representative Tom Suozzi, who handily defeated Republican Nassau County legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip in a special election.
Santos then launched a bid to represent New York’s first congressional district, challenging incumbent Republican representative Nick LaLota. However, in his statement Tuesday, Santos abandoned that contest, adding, “I don’t want my run to be portrayed as reprisal against Nick Lalota,” though he criticized his “abysmal record.”
Multiple leaders and constituents urged him to step down to in the interest of preserving the Republican seat and the narrow GOP balance of power in the House, Santos suggested. Alluding to the college campus unrest in recent weeks, Santos said the Democrats need to address the “very large issue of antisemitism in their ranks.”
“I have made the decision to hang it up here and stop perusing this race, THIS YEAR!” he said.
During Santos’s ejection, Democrat Bob Menendez’s ethics issues came under new scrutiny. Democratic Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman, who surprised many in the media with his staunch support for Israel and condemnation of pro-Palestinian progressives, argued that Menendez should be removed after Santos. On The View in December, Fetterman claimed that Menendez “actually did more sinister and serious kinds of things” than Santos, referring to his alleged collaboration with the Egyptian government. Menendez was also accused of a running years-long bribery scheme as well as various other conspiracy charges.
In December, Santos starred in an apparent spoof video commissioned by Fetterman advising Menendez on his similar legal troubles.
“Hey Bobby!” Santos said. “Look, I don’t think I need to tell you, but these people that want to make you get in trouble and want to kick you out, and make you run away, you make them put up or shut up! You stand your ground, sir. And don’t get bogged down by all the haters out there. Stay strong! Merry Christmas!”