Scandal-ridden Republican Representative George Santos should resign from Congress, voters in his own New York state have overwhelmingly said. new poll published on Monday.
Some 59% of registered voters in the Empire State say Santos, who has admitted lying and faced multiple investigations, should resign, according to the latest survey from the Siena College Research Institute. Among Republicans, nearly half agreed with him leaving.
Only 17% of respondents said in Siena they thought Santos should stay in power. The poll of 821 registered voters in New York state, conducted between Jan. 15 and Jan. 19, has a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.
Santos’ approval ratings didn’t fare any better, according to the poll: By a margin of more than 3 to 1, 16% to 56%, New York voters have an unfavorable view of the freshman lawmaker. That minus-40 net preference rating includes 56% of Republican respondents, as well as majorities of Democrats and independents, Siena found.
Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they didn’t know Santos or had no opinion of him — a lower proportion than six-term Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who recently became the Democratic leader in the presidential election. Room.
Santos has vowed to serve his full two-year term in the House, sweeping away searing condemnation from his own fellow Republicans on Long Island, where his congressional district is located.
He has come under constant and intensified scrutiny after a bombshell New York Times report last month called into question major details of the newly elected congressman’s biography, including his education and career. professionnal career.
Santos admitted to “embellishing” parts of his resume and apologizing, though he didn’t answer all the questions surrounding his claims about himself.
He 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 an operation for a disabled veteran’s dying dog.
Santos also failed to explain questions about the source of his apparent wealth, some of which was used to fund his successful congressional campaign.
Federal, state, local and international investigators are looking into Santos.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and other prominent Republicans have declined to join calls for Santos to step down. McCarthy leads a slim House GOP majority, which has already proven difficult to unify after the vote to elect him for president took 15 tries.
If Santos were to leave office, it would likely trigger a competitive special election in New York for his seat.
