Close to 80% of voters in GOP Rep. George Santos’ New York congressional district want him to resign—including 71% of Republicans—according to a poll published Tuesday, the same day the serial liar temporarily stepped down from his House committee assignments.
According to the Newsday/Siena College poll, Santos’ overall approval rating is an abysmal 7%, with 83% disapproval. Seventy-eight percent of survey respondents said Santos should resign, including 89% of Democrats, 71% of Republicans, and 72% of Independents.
“Talk about buyers’ remorse,” Siena College Research Institute director Don Levy said in a statement. “Voters elected George Santos by a comfortable margin not even three months ago. But today, the vast majority of his new constituents—including the vast majority of those who voted for him—want him gone.”
“Discouragingly, three-quarters or more of voters of every party say that Santos’ behavior and now his refusing to resign show that our political system is broken, not that his behavior says little about the state of our politics,” Levy added.
The survey of registered voters in New York’s 3rd Congressional District was conducted last week.
From intrigue surrounding how his net worth skyrocketed from almost nothing to $11 million in less than two years; to demonstrable lies about his education, employment history, residence, and purported Jewish heritage; to allegations of fraud perpetrated in Brazil and against a U.S. combat veteran and his dying dog, Santos’ lies have dominated his short congressional career.
On Tuesday, Santos said he would temporarily step down from the House Small Business Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee amid investigations into his campaign finances. The embattled congressman thanked House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for “allowing me to take time to properly clear my name before returning to my committees.”
Responding to this, the political action group MoveOn tweeted: “Stepping down from committees is just the start. Santos needs to resign.”
