Erstwhile congressman George Santos announced Thursday night he is running again some three months after he was expelled from the House of Representatives.
The surprise declaration was made online during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union.
Santos stated he was challenging Republican Rep. Nick LaLota for New York’s 1st congressional district, thus looking to unseat one of the Republicans who led a bipartisan effort to oust him in December.
LaLota previously called Santos “a sociopath” and attention seeker.
Despite his December 2023 expulsion, Santos still has floor privileges which explains how he was on hand personally to witness Biden deliver his address in the Capitol.
Former Representative George Santos, left, Representative Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, and Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, in the House Chamber ahead of a State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty)
The Santos campaign effort, Santos for Congress, supported his announcement by filing documents with the Federal Election Commission.
“Tonight, I want to announce that I will be retuning to the arena of politics and challenging Nick for the battle over #NY1,” Santos said in a lengthy statement delivered on X, the social media channel formerly known as Twitter.
“I look forward to debating him on the issues and on his weak record as a Republican. The fight for our majority is imperative for the survival of the country.”
As Breitbart News reported, lawmakers in the House of Representatives delivered the historic vote to expel Santos, who represented New York’s 3rd congressional district, in early December.
The ex-lawmaker faces a slew of criminal charges, including allegations that he defrauded campaign donors, lied to Congress about his wealth, received unemployment benefits while employed and used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses like designer clothing.
He also is alleged to have made unauthorized charges on credit cards belonging to some of his donors.
Santos pleaded not guilty to a revised indictment last October.