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Santos, whose 3rd District represents parts of Nassau County and Queens, made it official in a statement released Monday, April 17, in which he touted his re-election campaign as being “about TAKING BACK our country and restoring greatness back to New York.”
The freshman Republican, age 34, claimed he’s already made “significant efforts” to fulfill his previous campaign promises, which included “securing our border, lowering the high cost of living… and fighting the Hochul crime crisis of policies empowering criminals to terrorize the people of New York.”
Santos went on to criticize Democrats as “pushing radical agendas,” and decry Washington, DC as “incapable of solving anything.”
“We need a fighter who knows the district and can serve the people fearlessly, and independent of local or national party influence,” he said.
“Good isn’t good enough, and I’m not shy about doing what it takes to get the job done. I’m proud to announce my candidacy to run for re-election and continue to serve the people of NY-03.”
Shortly after announcing his re-election bid, Santos took to his official House Twitter account, where he touted the fact that he’s so far introduced 11 bills and co-sponsored 63 bills. Among them is a bill that would officially make the AR-15 style rifle the “national gun” of the United States.
Monday’s announcement came after months of seemingly-endless controversies for Santos, who first made national headlines after admitting that he lied about much of his background leading up to the 2022 election, including where he worked and went to school.
He is facing numerous investigations into his personal and campaign finances, including from the House Ethics Committee, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, and the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.
In March 2023, Santos formally confessed to defrauding a Brazilian shop clerk of $1,300 in clothing and shoes.
The admission is part of an agreement requested by Santos’ attorney in January 2022 and accepted by Brazilian prosecutors that ensures he won’t be prosecuted for the crime, according to CNN.
Appearing on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on the United Kingdom's TalkTV, Monday night, Feb. 20, Santos said he had to lie about his background in order to get his party’s backing.
“I’ve been a terrible liar on those subjects,” Santos told Morgan. “What I tried to convey to the American people is I made mistakes of allowing the pressures of what I thought and needed to be done in order to … this wasn’t about tricking anybody.”
“Yes it was,” Morgan replied. “The whole thing was about tricking people.”
Santos then claimed “it wasn’t about tricking the people; this was about getting accepted by the party here locally.”
Morgan then asked Santos why he thought he would get away with such blatant lies, which included false claims that he graduated from Baruch College and worked as a “seasoned Wall Street financier and investor.”
"To run for Congress of the United States and to just tell blatant lies about even your academic record – I’m just struck, not necessarily that a politician would lie, but that you would think no one would find out," Morgan said.
"Well, I’ll humor you this. I ran in 2020 for the same exact seat for Congress and I got away with it then," Santos said.
Santos has defended other claims that have since come under fire from fact-checkers, including that his mother was inside the South Town of the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, despite the New York Times reporting that she wasn’t even in the country.
He maintained that he “lost four employees” in the Pulse nightclub mass shooting in June 2016 even though none of the 49 victims ever worked at the companies named in Santos’ biography.
He also claimed that he had helped save 2,500 cats and dogs through his animal rescue charity, Friends of Pets United, even though there's no record of the organization or existing social media accounts, according to Morgan.
A Siena College poll released in February 2023 found that 66 percent of registered voters in New York think Santos should resign from Congress, up from 59 percent in January.
Related stories:
- 'I've Been A Terrible Liar,' George Santos Admits After He 'Got Away With It' In 2020
- ‘No Fortune For Fraud’: NY Reps Introduce Legislation Targeting George Santos
- House Ethics Committee Investigating George Santos For Financial Crimes, Sexual Harassment
- AR-15 Would Be 'National Gun Of America' Under Bill Co-Sponsored By Nassau Rep. George Santos
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