U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY) leaves the Capitol Hill Club on January 31, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
Rep. George Santos, the freshman Republican lawmaker from New York whose brief time in office has been draped in scandal, announced Monday he will seek reelection in 2024.
The embattled congressman will seek a second term after he admitted to lying about key details of his background as a candidate, one of a laundry list of controversies that have spurred some in Santos’ own party to call for him to resign.
A press release shared Monday afternoon on Santos’ Twitter page did not acknowledge his tumultuous start in Congress. It instead portrayed him as a “dependable conservative vote” and noted he is the first openly gay Republican elected to the House.
“Good isn’t good enough, and I’m not shy about doing what it takes to get the job done,” Santos said in a statement released by his campaign. “I’m proud to announce my candidacy to run for re-election and continue to serve the people of NY-3.”
Santos has shrugged off the bipartisan calls for him to give up his seat. He has insisted the voters of his Queens and Long Island-area congressional district should be the ones to decide whether he stays or goes. GOP leaders in the House, who hold a slim majority, also have not pushed him to step down.
Some polls have found that voters in Santos’ district view him overwhelmingly unfavorably across party lines.
The freshman lawmaker also has little money in his campaign war chest. It had just over $25,000 in cash as of the end of March, according to the most recent campaign finance filing.
Santos himself loaned hefty sums to his campaign to fuel his winning bid for Congress last year. Those loans, and his spending on the campaign trail, have both come under mounting scrutiny after a bombshell New York Times report in December cast doubt on his resume.
Before being sworn into office in early January, Santos admitted that he had “embellished” his education credentials and his work experience. He has denied committing any crimes.
Santos is under scrutiny by local prosecutors in Nassau County, the House Committee on Ethics and other investigative bodies on a range of different allegations.
Meanwhile, Democrats are gearing up their efforts to retake the seat they lost to Santos in the November elections.
A Democratic PAC is spending $45 million in New York state alone for the 2024 cycle, focusing intently on Santos’ district and a half-dozen others as the party works to regain majority control of the chamber.
CNBC reported last week that Santos may soon face his first Democratic challenger: former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who previously represented the district.
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