Newly elected US Representative George Santos (R-NY) stands alone on the floor of the US House of Representatives during the vote for the new Speaker of the House on the third day of the 118th Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, USA, January 5, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein Reuters
Rep. Scandal-hit Republican George Santos should resign from Congress, voters from his own state in New York said overwhelmingly in a new poll released Monday.
About 59% of registered Empire State voters say Santos, who has admitted to lying and faces multiple investigations, should step down, according to the latest survey by the Siena College Research Institute. Among Republicans, nearly half agree he should go.
Only 17% of respondents told Siena that they believe Santos should remain in office. The poll of 821 New York state registered voters, conducted between January 15 and last Thursday, had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.
Santos’ favorability rating is not better, polls show: With more than a three-to-one margin, 16% to 56%, Voters in New York have an unfavorable opinion of the new legislature. A minus-40 net favorability rating includes 56% of Republican respondents, along with a majority of Democrats and independents, Siena found.
Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they did not know Santos or had no opinion of him — a smaller proportion than Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who recently became the Democratic leader in the House.
Santos has vowed to serve a full two years in the House, brushing off the scorching condemnation of his fellow Republicans on Long Island, where the congressional district is located.
He has faced constant, intensifying scrutiny after a bombshell New York Times report last month questioned key details of the newly elected congressman’s biography, including education and professional history.
Santos has admitted to “adding” parts of his resume and apologized, although he has yet to respond to all questions about his claims about himself.
He has also denied some of the most damning allegations against him, including that he took off with thousands of dollars that were raised to help fund operations for dead dogs killed veterans.
Santos has also not clarified questions about the source of his apparent wealth, some of which was used to finance his successful congressional campaign.
Investigatorsat the federal, state, local and international levels are looking for Santos.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and other top Republicans have refused to join calls for Santos to resign. McCarthy leads a slim GOP House majority, which has proven difficult to unite after the vote to elect him speaker took 15 tries.
If Santos leaves office, it will likely trigger a competitive special election in New York for his position.