After being expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives in December of last year, former Rep. George Santos announced Thursday that he will again run for Congress, this time in New York Congressional District 1.
He will face off against incumbent Nick LaLota in the New York Republican Primary, who introduced a resolution last fall to have Santos expelled from the House.
“He has had plenty of time to do the right thing and resign. Since he hasn’t shown any ounce of integrity or a moral compass, the only logical step is to expel him from Congress. New York and the House will be better off when he is behind bars,” LaLota said last year in a press release.
Santos previously represented New York Congressional District 3.
“Tonight, I want to announce that I will be returning to the arena of politics and challenging Nick for the battle over #NY1,” Santos posted on X on Thursday, during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. “I look forward to debating him on the issues and on his weak record as a Republican. The fight for our majority is imperative for the survival of the country.”
“New York hasn’t had a real conservative represent them since I left office arbitrarily, thanks to RINO, empty suits like @nicklalota,” Santos added, taking a swipe at his opponent.
LaLota responded to Santos’ announcement, stating, “To raise the standard in Congress and to hold a pathological liar who stole an election accountable, I led the charge to expel George Santos. If finishing the job requires beating him in a primary, count me in,” reported CNN.Â
Democratic candidate John Avlon, who is vying for the same seat in Congress, replied to Santos’ announcement, “Bring it on.”
Santos is the sixth congressional member in history to be expelled from the House of Representatives. According to CNN, he pled not guilty to 23 federal charges, including misuse of campaign funds, lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports, and fraud regarding COVID-19 unemployment benefits.
