Former Rep. George Santos abandons long-shot bid to return to Congress

There will be no comeback for former Rep. George Santos.

The New York Republican said Tuesday that he is ending his longshot 2024 congressional bid.

Mr. Santos said he feared his independent bid in the 1st Congressional District on Long Island would split the vote in November.

“I don’t want my run to be portrayed as reprisal against Nick Lalota… Although Nick and I don’t have the same voting record and I remain critical of his abysmal record, I don’t want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems,” Mr. Santos said on X.

He had begun his race as a primary challenge against Mr. Lalota, the district’s incumbent Republican congressman.

Mr. Santos was expelled from the House in December — with the support of Mr. Lalota and other New York Republicans — after a series of embarrassing public revelations ranging from resume padding during the campaign to criminal charges of wire fraud and identity theft.

The openly gay Republican said he is also ending his run because of concern about Democratic anti-Semitism on display at America’s college campuses in recent days.

“It is clear that with the rise of antisemitism in our country we cannot afford to hand the house to Dems as they have a very large issue with antisemitism in their ranks,” he wrote.

Still, he said, 2024 isn’t the end of the world or his potential political future.

He said he would stop “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.”

He terminated his note on X with “it’s only goodbye for now, I’ll be back.”