Former Rep. George Santos said he's leaving the Republican Party and running as an independent this fall in the New York House race.
"I am officially suspending my petitioning in #NY01 to access the ballot as a Republican and will be filing to run as an independent," Santos posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I will take my Ultra MAGA/Trump supporting values to the ballot in November as an Independent."
Santos in December was expelled from the House over criminal corruption charges and accusations of misspending campaign money.
Santos in his post slammed Republicans after the House voted 286-134 to pass a sweeping $1.2 trillion government funding bill, sending it to the Senate just hours before the deadline to prevent a shutdown.
"After today's embarrassing showing in the House I have reflected and decided that I can no longer be part of the Republican Party, he posted on X.
"The Republican Party continues to lie and swindle its voter base. I in good conscience cannot affiliate myself with a party that stands for nothing and falls for everything."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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