Almost half of NY Republicans say Santos should resign: poll

Almost half of registered N.Y. Republicans believe that embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) should resign from his position in the House chamber, according to a new poll. The first-term lawmaker is facing various investigations into his deceit and inconsistencies in his campaign fundraising. 

The Siena College Research Institute poll, published on Monday, found that 49 percent of Republican respondents said that Santos should resign from his position, while 26 percent said the first-term lawmaker shouldn’t step down . 

According to the poll, 64 percent of registered Democrats surveyed said they believe Santos should resign from the House, while 17 percent said they disagree with the sentiment. 

Fifty-nine percent of registered Independent respondents said they think Santos should step down, while 10 percent disagreed, according to the survey. 

When asked their opinion of Santos, 56 percent of respondents said they have an unfavorable opinion of him, while 16 percent said they have a favorable opinion of the lawmaker. 

Along party lines, 20 percent of Democrats, 15 percent of Republicans and 9 percent of Independents surveyed share a favorable opinion of Santos. 

The poll comes as Santos, who defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman in New York’s 3rd Congressional District in the midterm elections, is facing investigations from federal authorities over potential campaign finance violations and an investigation by the Nassau County district attorney over lies he told during his campaign. 

Santos’s falsehoods range from inventing his professional résumé as a Wall Street financier, claiming to be Jewish and to have grandparents who fled the Holocaust, claiming to have played volleyball for a university he did not attend, and stating that he ran a charity that saved animals.

Despite calls for his resignation from some New York lawmakers, Santos has remained defiant. The House GOP leadership last week assigned the 34-year-old lawmaker to two committees.

The Siena College Research Institute poll was conducted from Jan. 15-19 with a total of 821 state respondents participating in the survey. The poll’s margin of error was 4.3 percentage points.