Former United States Representative George Santos, who on March 7 announced his intention to run as an independent for New York's First Congressional District, which includes the South Fork, has dropped out of the race.
On Tuesday, he announced on the social media platform X that he does not "want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house" to Democrats in November.
The House seat is now held by Representative Nick LaLota, a Republican serving his first term who was instrumental in ousting Mr. Santos from his Third Congressional District seat in December. Mr. LaLota will face either Nancy Goroff, the Democrats' 2020 nominee, or John Avlon, a former CNN anchor.
Mr. Santos, who had served less than a year in Congress and has been accused of fabricating nearly every aspect of his public persona, is facing multiple charges — conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, wire fraud, making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission and the House of Representatives, falsifying records submitted to the F.E.C., aggravated identity theft, and money laundering — to which he has pleaded not guilty.
In his announcement on X, Mr. Santos wrote, "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. . . . Staying in this race all but guarantees a victory for the Dems."
Ultimately promising "I'll be back," Mr. Santos went on to say that "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 any time."
