Constituent support for GOP Rep. Santos collapsing in NY-3, says GOP's Zeldin

Embattled New York GOP Rep. George Santos is rapidly losing support from constituents in the state's Third Congressional District as he battles myriad scandals relating to his deceptive statements while campaigning, says former New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin.

"He's going to have... an extremely difficult time, not just in Washington, D.C., and he pointed out that he just got seated on two different committees. But especially back home, where there's just cratering support by the day," Zeldin said during a Wednesday appearance on Fox Business.

"There were a lot of people who were genuinely supporting him, voting for him, volunteering for him... And they were just at this point crushed once the news came out, of what was true and what wasn't true, and unfortunately a lot more has come out that was false than accurate," he further lamented.

Zeldin unsuccessfully challenged New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul for the state's top job in 2022. Though his bid was unsuccessful, he was able to generate considerable Republican momentum statewide so as to help bolster the party's down-ballot candidates.

Santos has faced a bevy of public scrutiny follow revelations that he made false statements about his resumé during the campaign. Among them, his campaign site claimed that he had worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He has since admitted to having worked for a third group, Link Bridge, that he said merely did business with both firms.

Moreover, he has claimed that his family fled Nazi Germany to escape the Holocaust, another claim on which reports have since cast considerable doubt. In Brazil, he faces a potential fraud investigation over an alleged 2008 episode involving a stolen checkbook.

The New York Republican has resisted calls to resign and said he intends to serve his full term in office. The House GOP Steering Committee this week recommended him to serve on both the House Small Business Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has not called for his resignation.