Santos in 2024? FEC wants clarification on candidacy
Rep. George Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) leaves a House GOP conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Credit: AP/Andrew Harnik
WASHINGTON — Rep. George Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) has been asked by the Federal Election Commission to clarify whether he is seeking reelection in 2024 after recent campaign financial disclosures appeared to show he triggered a reporting requirement for candidates in the next election cycle.
In a letter sent to Santos on Tuesday, the FEC notes that his congressional campaign committee has “accepted contributions and/or made expenditures in support of your 2024 candidacy in excess of $5,000, thus meeting the definition of ‘candidate’ per Federal Election Campaign Laws.”
Financial disclosures filed by the Devolder-Santos for Congress fundraising committee in January show that Santos’ campaign reported no debts, but did receive 12 donations after the November 2022 election.
Those donations — received between Nov. 29 and Dec. 27 — totaled about $28,000. The bulk came from the online Republican fundraising platform WINRED, according to the filings.
The letter states Santos has until March 14 to "either disavow these activities by notifying the Commission in writing that you are not a candidate, or redesignate your principal campaign committee by filing a Statement of Candidacy."
The letter is the latest in a string of inquiries into the status of Santos’ campaign finances.
In an end-of-the-year filing submitted to the FEC last week, Santos’ campaign stated he was not the source of a $125,000 loan to his campaign, which he previously said was a personal loan.
The amendment to his filing has revived questions about the source of $700,000 in loans to Santos’ campaign.
Santos has balked when asked by reporters if he plans on running again, telling reporters last month, “That's too early. I told you, I just got here.”
Santos’ attorney Joseph Murray did not return an email seeking comment.
Nassau Republican Party leaders have unanimously called on Santos to resign, and said they will not support him should he run again.
Also, in an interview with the conservative TV news outlet Newsmax on Thursday, Santos blamed the “nature” of politics in Nassau County and New York for why he lied about having attended and graduated from Baruch College in Manhattan.
“Here’s the deal, I would have never gotten the nomination from the Nassau County GOP if I had not concluded college,” Santos said. “That was really the main driver, because of the way of the nature of their politics over there, it’s just plain and simple, right? So, I made that bad decision.”
Nassau GOP chairman Joe Cairo in a news conference with other GOP leaders last month said Santos not only lied about attending Baruch, but also told Cairo he was a star volleyball player for the school.
Baruch has said it has no record of Santos’ attendance.
Cairo did not immediately return a call seeking comment on Friday.
But another Nassau Republican, Assemb. Edward P. Ra of Franklin Square, took issue with Santos’ argument.
“Give me a freaking break … it’s the party’s fault you lied?” Ra wrote in a tweet that tagged Santos’ campaign Twitter account. “Our party in Nassau has nominated a diverse group of candidates from different backgrounds each year. Keep blaming everyone but yourself!”
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
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