Santos Expulsion Sets Off Special Election in Swing District Early Next Year

The House’s vote to expel Congressman George Santos on Friday is setting off a special election at New York’s Third Congressional District, likely to happen early next year.Mr. Santos now becomes one of six members of the House to be expelled in the history of America. His expulsion from the body is sparking a competition in a swing district at New York City and its suburbs to replace the seat that Mr. Santos flipped in 2022.Mr. Santos is facing federal conspiracy and fraud charges related to his activity in his 2022 campaign and was the subject of a scathing House Ethics report, which unearthed salacious details about his alleged misappropriation of campaign funds.Governor Hochul says she is “prepared to undertake the solemn responsibility of filing the vacancy in New York’s third district by scheduling a special election.” The vote could come as soon as February, press reports say. On the Democratic side, a former representative and gubernatorial candidate, Thomas Suozzi, and a former state senator, Anna Kaplan, have both thrown their hats in the ring in the race to replace Mr. Santos.Both Mr. Suozzi and Ms. Kaplan have already made their pitch in the hours since Mr. Santos’s expulsion, with Mr. Suozzi saying in a statement that the move is “a much-needed step in our journey to repair a broken system.”“We must move beyond our petty, partisan, performative finger-pointing and address the real problems Americans face,” Mr. Suozzi said.Ms. Kaplan has promised to flip the seat if nominated by the party, saying that the “time is now to come together as Democrats to restore integrity to New York’s Third Congressional District.”“George Santos has officially been expelled. A special election is now right around the corner,” Ms. Kaplan said. “I am battle tried and tested. I am ready. If chosen as our party’s nominee, I will flip this seat blue. We will win.” On the Republican side, an Air Force veteran, Kellen Curry; Nassau County’s comptroller, Elaine Phillips; and a Manhasset-based financial services executive, Jim Toes, are looking to replace Mr. Santos.Other more prominent GOP officials from the district may also decide to run but have not yet announced their intentions due to the fact that it was not clear until Friday morning that Mr. Santos would be expelled.A political scientist at John Jay College, Susan Kang, tells the Sun that the parties’ choice of nominees is especially important in a special election because there will not be primaries.“Democratic and Republican parties have to choose nominees, so they have to choose wisely,” Ms. Kang says. “And I don’t know that they always do.”The Cook Political Report gives Democrats a moderate advantage in the district in 2024. A special election, however, is a different ball game.A special election is likely to have relatively low turnout compared to the general election in 2024, meaning it will likely be decided by a relatively small number of votes and that individual candidates’ messages will be of elevated importance. “Specials are really races where rules don’t apply in the same way,” Ms. Kang says. “Who can turn out their supporters and their voters? “It’s going to come down to not that many votes.”

Santos Expulsion Sets Off Special Election in Swing District Early Next Year

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