Former Rep. George Santos He announced Thursday night that he will run for New York’s 1st Congressional District, challenging the Republican who voted to oust him from Congress.
“Tonight I want to announce that I will be returning to the political arena and challenging Nick to a battle over #NY1,” Santos said. He wrote in XRep. With reference to Nick LaLota.
Santos claimed that “New York has not had a true conservative representing them since I left office on my own because of the RINOs. [LaLota].”
“I look forward to having discussions with him about the issues and his poor record as a Republican,” he said.
The tweet was posted on President Joe Biden’s tweet State of the Union address.
“I didn’t know he did that,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said when asked by NBC News about Santos’ statement.
In a fundraising post shortly after the announcement, LaLota said, “I led the charge to oust George Santos to raise the standard in Congress and hold accountable the pathological liar who stole the election. If getting the job done requires beating him in the early going, count me in.”
Santos has been elected to represent New York’s 3rd District in Long Island and Queens in 2022. He was part of a group of New York Republican delegates elected in districts won by Biden just two years ago, helping the GOP gain a majority in the House.
LaLota and other members, including Rep. Mike Lawler, were vocal in their efforts to oust Santos. made up large parts of rcategoryincluding college education, work experience, and identity as a “Jew.”
A House ethical reporting Published in November, it alleged that Santos spent campaign funds on luxury items, Botox and OnlyFans payments. Santos denies the allegations, and after the report, he refused to resign but said he would not run again.
A few weeks later, the House voted 311-114 to expel him, with 105 Republicans voting in favor. He became the sixth member of Congress to be expelled and the only person to be expelled without being convicted of a crime or supporting the Confederacy.
Since leaving Congress, Santos has been active on social media and the platform Cameo, where he gets paid for short, personalized video messages. He sued Late night host Jimmy Kimmel for forgery and copyright infringement for using fake names to solicit videos that Kimmel plays on his show.
Santos 23 face federal charges, including identity theft and campaign finance fraud. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The primary selection will be on June 25.