Many times, political analysts equate political contributions to votes.
If that’s the case, George Santos must have seen the writing on the wall when he failed to raise a single penny in his bid to return to Congress, Mediaite reported.
Santos announced Tuesday he was withdrawing his bid to represent New York’s 1st District in Congress. He was running as an independent.
The former congressman’s campaign committee reported no fundraising or expenditures in March.
The disgraced congressman said he was withdrawing from the race so he wouldn’t “split the ticket with incumbent GOP Rep. Nick LaLota” and give the majority in the House to the Democrats, according to CNN.
“Staying in this race all but guarantees a victory for the Dems in the race,” he said.
“I have meet with leaders and with constituents and I have made the decision to hang it up here and stop perusing this race, THIS YEAR! The future holds countless possibilities and I am ready willing and able to step up to the plate and go fight for my country at anytime,” Santos said.
Santos was expelled from Congress, where he represented the 3rd Congressional District in New York as a Republican, in December after a damaging ethics committee report. The report said there was “overwhelming evidence” he broke the law and that he “cannot be trusted,” per the Associated Press.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges. These charges include allegations of fraud related to “COVID-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports,” per CNN.
In his expulsion from Congress, Santos became the sixth lawmaker ever to be expelled from the House, per CNN.
Santos was a controversial figure in his time in Congress as lies and falsehoods on his resume came to light.
Nevertheless, he has vowed to remain relevant in politics.
“I will continue to participate in the public policy discussion and will do my part… I will always strive to stand on the right side of history. It’s only goodbye for now, I’ll be back,” Santos said.
