Exiled former New York congressman George Santos announced Friday a new candidacy to retake his House seat, this time as an independent candidate.
Santos plans to run to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Larota. Representative of New York’s 1st Congressional District.
“Republicans continue to lie and deceive voters,” Santos wrote in the X on Friday. He said, “I cannot in good conscience belong to a party that supports nothing and follows everything.”
Former Santos staffer says surprise challenge to ousted congressman Larota is ‘a joke’
In a series of social media posts Friday night, Santos said he would file ethics complaints against four members of Congress on Monday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
“I am officially discontinuing my petition activities.” #NY01 “I plan to access the ballot as a Republican and run as an independent…” he added.
Mr. Santos previously represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District as a Republican. Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi won the special election after Santos was expelled from Congress, taking his seat.
In a post on X earlier this month, Santos called Larota a RINO (Republican in Name Only).
When he announced his candidacy to unseat Larota, he did not specify his party affiliation, saying, “He is prepared to risk the future of our majority and the future of this country for his own political gain.” There is,” he wrote.
Fox News Digital has reached out to LaRota’s office.
Former Rep. George Santos (RN.Y.) sits on the House floor before the start of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address during a joint session of the House and Senate at the U.S. Capitol on March 7. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
The freshman lawmaker was ousted a year into his first term in the House following a damning House Ethics Committee report that found he misused campaign funds on luxury goods and OnlyFans, among other things.
He has not been convicted of a crime, but has been charged with multiple charges related to wire fraud, identity theft, falsifying records, credit card fraud, and other crimes. He pleaded not guilty.
Santos was removed from office in a bipartisan vote of 311 to 114.
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To the surprise of many, he returned to the Capitol earlier this month to watch President Biden’s speech. union status address. Despite being expelled, Santos said he still retains privileges as a former lawmaker, including access to the House chamber during sessions.
At the time, he did not rule out running for election again.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
