George Santos Says He’d Run Again if Expelled – Expulsion won’t thwart Rep. George Santos, the Long Island Republican, who, despite facing federal fraud charges, has indicated his intention to run for his House seat next year should lawmakers manage to remove him from office. Santos highlighted his own win in a House district carried by President Joe Biden in 2020 as evidence of his political prowess.
“Could I have won the general election last time? Nobody said I could. But I survived,” Santos told CNN in an interview set to air Sunday. However, that triumph occurred prior to a wave of intense scrutiny directed at Santos. Shortly after his victory, substantial portions of his life story were discovered to be fabricated. Nevertheless, the legislator has maintained that voters would overlook his deceitful assertions.
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“People elected me because I said I’d come here to fight the swamp, I’d come here to lower inflation, create more jobs, make life more affordable, and the Commitment to America. That’s why people voted for anybody,” he said. “To say that they voted based on anybody’s biography, I can beg you this. Nobody knew my biography. Nobody opened my biography who voted for me in the campaign.”
Democrats are closely monitoring Santos’ district as a potential chance to secure it next year, as they seek to regain control in the closely divided House. In the past, Republicans managed to flip several seats, including crucial New York districts like Santos’, allowing them to secure a slim majority. Furthermore, there are a multitude of candidates prepared to enter the race should Santos be removed from office.
Apart from his questionable biography, Santos has encountered escalating legal issues. In October, federal prosecutors issued a 23-count superseding indictment, alleging that Santos engaged in credit card information theft from donors and family members to artificially boost his contributions and loans, aiming to meet the criteria for support from national Republicans. He has pleaded not guilty.
Santos’ fellow New York Republicans, on the other hand, are keen on his removal and have supported the initiative to oust him from office. Additionally, there is an ongoing House ethics panel investigation into Santos. A previous attempt, supported by his fellow New York Republicans, to expel him from office failed to pass in the House earlier this week.
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This expulsion motion garnered support from GOP freshmen who increasingly perceive Santos as a liability for their own reelection prospects next year, which will be crucial in determining control of the closely divided House. They plan to make another attempt after the ethics panel concludes its review. “I believe we’ll see George Santos in handcuffs standing in front of a judge,” Central New York-area Rep. Brandon Williams told reporters in a virtual news conference Friday. “I believe he has no place in Congress.”