Newly elected US Representative George Santos (R-NY) stands alone on the floor of the US House of Representatives during the voting for the new House Speaker on the third day of the 118th Congress in Washington, US Capitol on January 5. 2023.
Evelyn Hochstein | reuters
Scandal-stricken Republican Rep. Jorge Santos should resign from Congress, voters in his home state of New York said by an overwhelming majority New poll released on Monday,
Nearly 59% of registered voters in the Empire State say Santos, who has admitted he lied and is facing multiple investigations, should resign, according to the latest poll by the Siena College Research Institute. Among Republicans, about half agreed he should go.
Just 17% of respondents from Sienna said they believed Santos should remain in office. The poll of 821 registered voters in New York State, conducted between January 15-19, has a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.
Santos’s favorability ratings fared no better, the poll showed: by more than a 3 to 1 margin, from 16% to 56%, voters in New York hold an unfavorable opinion of the new legislator. That minus-40 net favorability rating includes 56% of Republican respondents as well as majorities for Democrats and independents, Ciena found.
Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they did not know Santos or had no opinion of him — a smaller proportion than Hakeem Jeffries, a six-term representative from New York who recently became the Democratic leader in the House.
Santos has resolved to complete his two-year term in the house, brushing scathing condemnation from his own fellow republican in Long Island, where his congressional district is located.
She faced sustained, intense scrutiny last month after an explosive New York Times report called into question key details of the newly elected congressman’s biography, including her education and professional history.
Santos has acknowledged that he “embellished” parts of his resume and apologized, although he has not answered all questions about his claims about himself.
He has also denied some of the deadliest allegations against him, including that he ran away with thousands of dollars raised for charity. Fund the Operation of a Disabled Veteran’s Dying Dog,
Santos has also not clarified questions regarding the source of his apparent wealth, some of which was used to fund his successful congressional campaign.
Investigators at the federal, state, local and international levels are looking for Santos.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and other top Republicans have declined to join calls for Santos to resign. McCarthy leads the GOP House majority, which has already proved difficult to unify after the vote to elect the speaker took 15 tries.
If Santos leaves office, it would likely trigger a competitive special election for his seat in New York.