Republican Rep Santos is on his way OUT of the US House……Update*…

The Republican Long Island House member just got bad news….

The House Republicans are leaving him in droves….

He now says he won’t run again…Cahnging his mind and the House could expel him soon….

Even though the Republicans are bound to lose this House District to a Democrat…..

The House Ethics Committee on Thursday found “substantial evidence” that Representative George Santos violated federal law, setting the stage for another push to expel the embattled first-term Republican from New York and prompting him to declare that he would not seek re-election.

House investigators found evidence that Mr. Santos used campaign funds for personal purposes, defrauded donors and filed false or incomplete campaign finance and financial disclosure reports, according to a 56-page report released on Thursday.

The committee voted unanimously to refer its findings to the Department of Justice, saying that Mr. Santos’s conduct “warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House.”

And while the panel refrained from recommending any punitive measures, there were already indications that the report could be the catalyst for a third effort to remove Mr. Santos from office. Numerous members of Congress have previously said that they would support his expulsion if the committee found criminal wrongdoing or a severe breach of ethics.

“Most of us have never seen anything like this — this extensive, this brazen, and this bold,” said Representative Glenn F. Ivey, Democrat of Maryland, who sits on the Ethics Committee.

Mr. Ivey, a former federal prosecutor, said he believed the panel had uncovered additional evidence that could be used in Mr. Santos’s federal prosecution….

More…

More on the NY-3 District politics fromn a Right leaning outfit….

This development changes almost nothing about the NY-3 race, as Santos–who we recently named our Turkey of the Year–had long been considered a nonserious candidate for re-election, to the point where he had negative fundraising last quarter. It should, however, trigger Republicans privately waiting out Santos to officially enter the race.

NY-3 is a D+2 seat covering about half of suburban Nassau County on Long Island, including all of the upscale North Shore and upper-middle-class bedroom communities in the central and eastern parts of the county. It also includes a small slice of Queens, around Whitestone, that is a mix of white working class and a growing Asian population. This area has been about the epicenter of metro New York’s shift to the right over the past couple of years, as Santos surprisingly won by 8 points on the coattails of Lee Zeldin (R) despite Democrats having routinely won the seat for the prior 20 years, and Santos being a total unknown.

Six Democrats are already in the race, but the likely nominee is ex-Rep. Tom Suozzi (D), who gave up the seat last year to mount a losing primary challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D). Suozzi performed about evenly with the top of the ticket in winning his three terms; previously, he was a two-term Nassau County executive, but lost a bid for a third term in an 18-point landslide. Ex-State Sen. Anna Kaplan (D), who lost re-election in 2022, is the only other Democrat in the race that has held office before; businessman Austin Cheng (D) is the only Dem other than Suozzi or Kaplan raising money.

Nine Republicans were already running against Santos in the primary. Of those, only retired cop Mike Sapracione (R) and businessman Kellen Curry (R) have been raising significant money; lawyer Greg Hach (R) and businessman Dan Norber (R) are also raising enough to run credible campaigns. The expectation, with Santos out, is that a higher-profile Republican or two may enter. Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips (R), State Sens. Jack Martins (R) and Steven Rhoads (R), State Reps. Jake Blumencranz (R), Michael Durso (R), John Mikulin (R), and Ed Ra (R), consultant and 9/11 survivor Anthony Devolder (R), and Nassau County councilor Mazi Pilip (R) may be interested. From the Queens side of the district, NYC councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R) is a prominent voice. Further afield, Zeldin could plausibly carpetbag here if he wished to return to Congress.

Two big unknowns hover over this race: First, if Santos resigns or is expelled, there will be a special election. County party chairs would pick the nominees, and in effect, the chairs of the Nassau County GOP and Dems would have unilateral authority. Second, the New York Court of Appeals heard argument yesterday on Dems’ redistricting challenge. If Dems win there, they will likely redraw this seat to make it bluer.

…RRH Elections…

*Update…

Mike Johnson Won’t Save George Santos