As if the current election cycle isn’t already testing the collective patience of America, disgraced former congressman George Santos threw his bedazzled hat into the ring and announced he’s running for Congress again in a New York House race that’s taking place in three short months.
You might be thinking, wasn’t he expelled? Can he do that? The answer is: Yes, he absolutely can. According to the Constitution, the only requirements for running for Congress are for a person to have been a U.S. citizen for seven years, live in the state you seek to represent, and be at least 25 years old. Santos checks all three of those boxes, and, in fact, can look to former Rep. James Traficant as precedent. Traficant was expelled in 2002 and ran for reelection in 2010 from prison. (He lost.)
However, New York Democrat Richie Torres is trying to change that with legislation—named the “GEORGE” rule—that bans former members who have been voted out of their seat from returning to the House.
In the meantime, Santos appears to have willfully chosen a faceoff against the very Republican who pushed Congress to expel him, Rep. Nick LaLota. “George Santos deserves to be in prison, not in Congress,” said LaLota when announcing his expulsion resolution. When Santos previously ran for Congress, it was in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, but Democrat Tom Suozzi successfully flipped that seat just last month in a special election.
Santos is launching his last-minute campaign while he also faces a 23-count felony indictment and a trial in September. (He’s pleaded not guilty.) Santos’ alleged crimes include, but are not limited to, misusing campaign funds on cosmetic Botox injections, luxury shopping at Hermés, and purchases on OnlyFans. (Santos denied it, calling the charges “slanderous.”) And that came about 10 months after the New York Times exposed Santos for fabricating several aspects of his life story, including having a college degree, working for Goldman Sachs, and being Jewish. He admitted to lying, explaining that he only meant he was “Jew-ish,” because he’s “clearly Catholic.”
It’s hard to gauge just how serious of a threat Santos is to LaLota’s reelection efforts; the first-term House Republican won in 2022 with about 55 percent of the vote. Democrats have their sights set on the district too, hoping to flip it despite fresh congressional maps making the seat a touch redder. It’s a crowded field, with four Democrats running, including John Avlon, the former editor in chief of the Daily Beast, who was also one of the founders of centrist group No Labels and previously worked for Rudy Giuliani.* A matchup between him and George Santos—pretty wild!
But “the chances of [Santos] even being a candidate on the ballot for a primary are slim to none,” Lawrence Levy, a professor at Hofstra University, cautioned in an interview with New York’s Spectrum News. “To do that, you’ve got to collect 1000s of signatures and he has to do it by, I believe, April 4.”
In the aftermath of his expulsion, Santos seemed to be thriving. He joined the creator economy by making custom videos on Cameo that started at $250 apiece and have gone up to $350. He also suggested to reporters that he would “definitely be writing a book,” and was interviewed by cult-favorite comedian Ziwe, during which he seemed to tease his next run for Congress. “I’ll be back,” said Santos, referring to how he would choose the House of Representatives over the film House of Gucci. “I’m 35, they’re all in their 50s. I’ll outlive them, each and every last one of them.”
But just a few weeks ago he flip-flopped, telling New York’s City & State that he was working on a documentary and a reality TV show, and therefore uninterested in engaging in a “messy primary.”
In an interview with CNN, Naysa Woomer, Santos’ former communications director, was also skeptical that her ex-boss would be able to get onto the ballot in time. But she said she would still take the threat seriously if she were LaLota. “Is it a joke? Yes, but also, it’s an opportunity to, once again, prove that you can beat George Santos, whether it’s kicking him out of Congress or out of a primary.”
So is he running or not? What is real? Apparently Congress’ expelled fabulist will always keep us guessing.
Correction, March 15, 2024: This article originally misspelled John Avlon’s surname.
