Two-thirds of New York voters say Santos should resign: poll

Two-thirds of New York voters think that disgraced first-term Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) should resign from Congress, according to a new poll, after his early political career has been marred in scandal.

A 66-percent majority of voters, including 58 percent of Republicans, think that Santos should resign from the House, according to the Siena College poll released Monday. Santos, who has been under fire for lying about his past and is facing questions about his financial background, has admitted to fabricating his résumé.

The poll found that Santos hasn’t garnered much support from any constituency, including from his own party. With just 17 percent of respondents having a favorable opinion of the lawmaker, including just 23 percent of Republicans, Santos is facing heat from back home.

Despite the pressure from voters, federal lawmakers and local officials to resign, Santos has thus far refused. Republican leadership, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), has been critical of Santos but has not tried to force him out of office. Instead, McCarthy actually seated Santos on a number of House committees, which Santos withdrew from.

The Siena poll found that just 16 percent of respondents thought he should not resign. 

Santos is under both federal and state investigation for his past, including possible campaign finance and ethics violations. 

The floundering support for Santos back home might raise alarms for Republican leadership, as Santos captured a Long Island seat that was previously held by a Democrat and voted for President Biden by a 54 percent to 44 percent margin in 2020. The ability to capture such seats in states like New York and California was one of the key reasons why the party was able to take a slim House majority in 2022.

The poll surveyed 744 voters and has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.