Poll: Majority of New Yorkers want Santos to resign

(The Center Square) — A majority of New Yorkers want embattled congressman George Santos to step down amid the growing controversy over his falsehoods, according to a new poll.

The Siena College Research Institute poll, released Monday, found at least 59% of Empire State voters want the Republican from New York’s 3rd Congressional District to step down. Only about 17% said they think he should stay in office.

The poll also found a plurality of Republicans, or 49% of those surveyed, want Santos to relinquish his congressional seat. About 64% of Democrats said he should step down.

Meanwhile, 56% of the 800 registered voters surveyed said they had an “unfavorable” view of Santos, with only 16% saying they had a “favorable” view of the congressman. Slightly more Republicans (56%) had an unfavorable view compared to Democrats (55%), the poll found.

It’s the first snapshot of New Yorkers’ sentiments towards the freshman House lawmaker since the Nov. 8 election, when he defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman to win the congressional district, which includes part of northern Nassau County and northeast Queens.

Since the election, Santos has admitted to faking his resume and lying about his education background, including false claims of working for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and earning a college degree from New York’s Baruch College.

Meanwhile, other embarrassing stories have surfaced including claims Santos swindled a veteran out of money he helped raise to provide medical care for the man’s dying dog.

Santos has drawn condemnation from within his own party, including Republican officials in Nassau County, who have threatened to cut off campaign funds if he doesn’t step down.

He’s also facing an Ethics Committee complaint calling for an investigation into alleged violations of the Ethics in Government Act by “failing to file timely, accurate, and complete financial disclosure reports as required by law.”

Among the allegations outlined in the complaint, are claims the Republican concealed the source of a $705,000 loan he made to his own congressional campaign.

Meanwhile, a Federal Elections Commission complaint filed by the Campaign Legal Center alleges Santos and his campaign engaged in a “straw donor scheme” to conceal the sources of the $705,000 personal loan.

Despite that, Santos has refused to relinquish the seat, posting on social media that he “will NOT resign,” and pointing to his support from voters in the midterm elections.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has so far declined to call on Santos to resign, and the House GOP Steering Committee has recommended he get seats on the House Small Business Committee and House Science, Space and Technology Committee. Those appointments must still be approved by the full House Republican Conference.