George Santos abandons his independent bid for Congress

Former US Representative George Santos on Tuesday (Apr 23) announced that he has decided against returning to Congress. This comes a month after he was expelled from the House after an ethics report on his conduct accused him of converting campaign donations for his use.

Santos, who at the time represented New York's 3rd congressional district, was expelled in December 2023 by a 311-114 vote. He was only the sixth member in the chamber's history to be expelled, the first to be kicked out without being convicted of a federal crime.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges including deceiving Congress about his wealth, stealing from his campaign and obtaining unemployment benefits he didn't deserve. 

Santos, who was running as an independent candidate for the 1st Congressional District in New York, posted on X, "I have decided to withdraw from my independent run".

As per the news agency AP, Santos' announcement comes after the disgraced congressman's campaign committee reported zero fundraising or expenditures last month (March). This, as per the report, led to speculations that his campaign has failed to get off the ground.

However, in his X post, Santos said, "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…" 

"Staying in this race all but guarantees a victory for the Dems in the race," he added.

Nick LaLota is the GOP primary candidate for the eastern Long Island congressional district or New York's 1st congressional district.

However, Santos, in his post, made clear that the withdrawal is only for "THIS YEAR!".

"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 any time," he said.

"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."

"It's only goodbye for now, I'll be back," he concluded.