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FORMER Congressman George Santos has ended his 2024 campaign to rejoin the House as an independent representative.
Santos announced his run for New York’s 1st Congressional District last month.
“I have decided to withdraw from my independent run for #NY1,” Santos said in a post on X.
He said the decision came down to a bigger-picture strategy and what was better for the country.
“I don’t want my run to be portrayed as reprisal against Nick Lalota,” he said about the Republican representative from New York’s 1st congressional district.
And he said he pulled out of the race to avoid handing a victory to Democrats. He ran as an Independent.
“Staying in this race all but guarantees a victory for the Dems in the race,” he said.
Santos was elected as a member of the GOP to represent New York’s 3rd District in 2022.
He was removed from Congress by December 2023 — the first Republican to ever be expelled from the chamber.
A congressional investigation found that Santos fabricated links to the Holocaust, the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando during his short tenure in office.
“George Santos is a liar — in fact, he has admitted to many of them – who has used his position of public trust to personally benefit himself from Day 1,” Republican Representative Anthony D’Esposito said at the time.
Over 300 of his colleagues voted for his expulsion, including 105 Republican peers.
‘GOODBYE FOR NOW’
The 35-year-old stayed positive about the state of the country in his concession announcement.
“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,” he wrote.
Despite the loss for this election season, Santos said he was not done with politics.
“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,” he said.
“It’s only goodbye for now, I’ll be back.”
