After George Santos got elected the rug was pulled out from under him.
Santos has thus far survived any attempts to remove him from office, despite a pending federal indictment.
But now pundits are wondering if he will continue in Congress, now that one of his key opponents just dropped out of the race.
The candidate list gets shorter
The number of Democrats competing to get New York Rep. George Santos’ position in the House just got a little bit shorter.
Candidate Zak Malamed dropped out of the race for the closely watched seat after Long Island just turned redder thanks to a win by Republican Ed Romaine.
Romaine flipped Suffolk County’s Executive Office to GOP control for the first time in two decades.
A few people are vying to take over for Santos in what’s slated to be several competitive congressional races in the state.
These races could determine party control of the House, and Santos’ spot is among five key seats that could have a major impact.
Malamed has now endorsed former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a fellow Democrat.
According to Malamed, Suozzi “is our best chance to flip this district blue and end the toxic hold that MAGA Republicans have on Long Island and Congress at large. I have spent the past five months knocking on doors, speaking to voters and energizing donors across the district. I look forward to continuing that work to win this election and to inspire the next generation of leadership.”
Other competitors attempting to oust Santos include former state Senator Anna Kaplan, Josh Lafazan, William Murphy, Scott Livingston, Austing Cheng, Steve Behar, and Darius Radzius.
But Malamed had a successful fundraising venture, raising $302,000 over three months, and reporting $524,000 cash on hand before dropping out.
He said that the current moment, “is too important for an intra-party fight,” and that all of the Democrats’ “collective energy” should be focused on “electing a Democratic majority who can deliver relief for the American people, aid for Israel and support for Ukraine.”
Suozzi once represented the 3rd Congressional District which includes some of Long Island and northeast Queens, before his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign last year.
He launched a new campaign to take over the New York congressional seat held by Santos in October.
Suozzi announced the run on the social media platform X, saying, “The madness in Washington, D.C., and the absurdity of George Santos remaining in the United States Congress is obvious to everyone.”
The lawmaker is an accountant and lawyer who was elected to Congress in 2016, survived a tough re-election in 2020, and also served as mayor of Glen Cove from 1994 to 2001.
Santos isn’t going anywhere
Despite the endless controversy, George Santos has resisted calls to resign.
The resistance comes even after a federal indictment in May alleged that he scammed donors, embezzled money from his own campaign, lied in financial disclosures submitted to Congress after saying he was a millionaire and received employment money although he was ineligible.
Federal prosecutors also allege that Santos stole the identities of his political donors and used their credit cards to make thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges.
His ex-treasurer pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge in October and implicated Santos in a money embellishment scandal that used fake loans and fake donors to produce campaign finance reports.
The number of lies that Santos has told is too many to count, and now, his opponents hope they can finally have him removed from his post.
Informed American will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
