Kari Lake, a GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, decried the expulsion of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., telling Newsmax on Friday that House Republicans need every vote they can muster, yet they just sent one home.
The vote to expel Santos was 311-114 but nearly all of the Republican leadership voted against.
Still, the ouster, Lake told "Eric Bolling The Balance" was "not a very smart thing to do."
"If lying was a reason to get somebody out of Congress or out of Washington, D.C., the place would be empty right now," Lake told Bolling. "We need every single vote at this moment. This is so critical.
"Like I said, it's like the country's on fire and I think it was a mistake to expel him. The voters will do the right thing. The voters will decide who they want, and now we are down one additional Republican vote."
A special election to replace Santos will be held in the coming months, timing that will prove to be just months from the 2024 elections.
"I think it was a not a very smart thing to do, considering the time set we're in," Lake said. "I would leave it up to the voters to do that. We're not that far from an election, and let the voters make the decision."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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