George Santos drops independent bid for New York House seat

Former Republican lawmaker George Santos announced that he was dropping his House bid on Tuesday, claiming he did not want to divide Republican voters and hand a victory to Democrats.

Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives in December, flipped New York’s third district during the 2022 midterm elections. But it was later discovered that he fabricated much of his resume. He was also indicted on federal charges last October after a House ethics investigation.

“I have [met] with leaders and with constituents and I have made the decision to hang it up here and stop pursuing this race THIS YEAR,” Santos said in a post to X. “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. I will continue to participate in the public policy discussion and will do my part. I will always strive to stand on the right side of history.”

Santos said that his decision was to help Republicans win the seat in November, even though he remains critical of Republican hopeful Nick LaLota. It also comes after Santos failed to raise any money during the first fundraising quarter.

“It is clear that with the rise of antisemitism in our country we cannot afford to hand the house to Dems as they have a very large issue with antisemitism in their ranks,” Santos said. “Staying in this race all but guarantees a victory for the Dems in the race.”

The former lawmaker announced his bid for the state’s first district in March, and claimed at the time that LaLota was a Republican in Name Only (RINO) who voted for his own interests rather than that of his constituents. LaLota was one of the Republicans who voted to expel Santos last year.