George Santos pulls out of New York congressional race

Disgraced former Congressman George Santos is ending his run to rejoin the U.S. House as an independent.

Santos, a gay man who was expelled from the House in December after being caught in many lies and indicted on various criminal charges, announced in March that he was leaving the Republican Party and would run as an independent to represent New York’s First Congressional District, adjacent to the Third, the Long Island district he used to represent. He had previously said he'd run for the seat as a Republican, challenging incumbent Nick LaLota in the primary. But Tuesday he announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he was pulling out of the race .

He said he didn’t want his run “to be portrayed as reprisal” against LaLota, who introduced the resolution to expel Santos. He also said he was worried that the race would split the Republican vote and result in a Democratic majority in the House. He claimed the Democrats “have a very large issue with antisemitism in their ranks,” a statement many people would argue with.

Santos also vowed to remain engaged in politics. “It’s only goodbye for now, I’ll be back,” he wrote in the post, which was riddled with typos.

Santos, who was elected to the House in 2022, has admitted to or been caught in numerous lies about his education, work experience, family, and more. He has been indicted for crimes including fraud, conspiracy, and falsifying records (he has pleaded not guilty to all the charges). Also, a detailed investigation by the House Ethics Committee uncovered extensive evidence of alleged misconduct, including campaign finance violations and misrepresentation of his background.

After the report came out, he said he wouldn’t seek reelection, but then he turned around an announced his independent run in the First District, denouncing Republicans for insufficient support of the MAGA agenda.

It also emerged this week that he had made a Cameo video congratulating NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love Association, which is widely condemned for its advocacy of pedophilia. Santos said he was the victim of a prank.

“You mean this order from cameo that was presented like it was for a person named Nambla not NAMBLA?” he wrote on X, responding to another user who had shared the video.

“The request was a ‘prank’ or as I call it yet another FRAUD just like Jimmy Kimmel…,” Santos continued. “I guess I’ll see the owner of this garbage in court too.”

Santos is suing the late-night host, claiming Kimmel tricked him into making videos that were used to ridicule Santos.