- Former lawmaker George Santos said he could no longer be a Republican Friday
- He was kicked out of the house in December for misusing donor funds
- He previously announced at Joe Biden’s State of the Union that he would run again
Long Island liar George Santos announced he is rebranding and will no longer be a Republican after the GOP-held House passed an ’embarrassing’ $1.2 trillion funding package Friday.
Former lawmaker George Santos announced Friday that he will run as an independent in his bid for New York’s 1st Congressional District.
After being expelled from Congress in December for using donor funds to illegally pay for adult content on OnlyFans and cosmetic botox procedures, the fabulist announced at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union that he would seek re-election.
“After today’s embarrassing display in the House, I have reflected and decided that I can no longer be a part of the Republican Party,” Santos wrote on X.
“I will take my Ultra MAGA/Trump support values to the November ballot as an independent,” he continued.
Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives in December and faces federal charges of defrauding donors to his 2022 campaign
Santos and his opponent Rep. Nick LaLota, RN.Y., has been sparring for months. ‘I don’t like Nick LaLota. He’s a traditional meathead,’ Santos said in November
Santos’ run for Congress comes less than six months after the Justice Department announced charges against the former lawmaker.
“Congressman George Santos charged with conspiracy, fraud, false statements, falsifying records, aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud,” the Department of Justice announced in October 2023.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges alleging several far-reaching fraud schemes, including the unauthorized use of credit card numbers stolen from campaign donors.
Their investigation is ongoing.
Still, despite multiple charges in a federal investigation, Santos believes he has what the New Yorker wants.
“The Republican Party continues to lie and cheat its voter base,” he wrote on X.
‘I cannot in good conscience join a party that stands for nothing and falls for everything.’
I am officially suspending my petition in #NY01 to get on the ballot as a Republican and I will be filing to run as an Independent.’
His opponent, Rep. Nick LaLota, RN.Y., has only held the seat since 2023, and the two have often traded barbs.
“To raise the bar in Congress and hold accountable a pathological liar who stole an election, I led the charge to expel George Santos,” LaLota wrote on X earlier this month.
“If that requires you to beat him in a primary, count me in.”
Former lawmaker George Santos shuffled around the House floor before Biden’s State of the Union address, where he spoke with former colleagues
Santos yucked it up with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., in his return to Congress earlier this month
Santos said in November: ‘I don’t like Nick LaLota. He’s a traditional meathead.’
“If he faces a true challenger, well-funded, one person without a spoiler candidate, he might not win,” Santos continued.
‘He is not well liked. He is an arrogant person. He’s not a nice guy. He is cocky. He’s a traditional meathead, someone who isn’t nice to you for no reason.’
Santos, for his part, is only the sixth member of Parliament in history to be kicked out.
Since getting the boot, Santos has carved out a lucrative career on Cameo, selling personal videos of himself.
