Santos' win stains the local red wave
Presuming he's sworn in, Rep.-elect George Santos will begin his term facing probes and scrutiny. Credit: AP/John Locher
The congressman-elect known as George Devolder-Santos rode a red wave to win a newly-redrawn Nassau-Queens seat.
But Santos has yet to make it ashore.
Fundamental and troubling questions about who he really is, where he lives, and how he makes and moves his money all fuel a scandalous blaze that’s vexing Long Island Republicans. Presuming he's sworn in after New Year's as scheduled, Santos will begin his term facing probes and scrutiny of his various dubious disclosures that won't go away any time soon.
Although chronically evasive about his true background, Santos does display whom he sides with. And that doesn't seem to include the residents of his district who would like to move past Donald Trump's style of lies and toxicity.
All along, Santos' nomination looked like trouble to skeptical GOP activists.
He went to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, to support Trump. He echoed a pro-Russia line on Ukraine until earlier this year. Just this month, he was listed as a special guest at a gathering in Manhattan featuring such figures as Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Austrian reactionaries, and discredited “Pizzagate” provocateur Jack Posobiec.
That's key because other Long Island Republicans sent to the nation's capital — Andrew Garbarino, Anthony D’Esposito, and Nick LaLota — are vetted by years on the political scene. They sought in the recent election to show distance from the foulest and most fraudulent of GOP circles.
Nassau GOP Chairman Joe Cairo on Monday took a hands-off position on Santos’ alleged fakery and offered no confirmations or denials. He said Santos "deserves a reasonable amount of time" to address these “serious” charges.
One longtime Nassau GOP'er says Santos never faced the kind of vetting for the nomination that one might expect: “The position was, oh, he ran two years ago, let him run again. He has money.” During his 2020 and 2022 campaigns, Santos obscured biographical details and dodged media scrutiny.
So far, Phil Orenstein, the die-hard leader of the Queens Village Republican club, betrays no fading of support for Santos. Orenstein said Tuesday: “Look the knives are out for him, as they are for every Republican. You’re calling me about charges — and George Santos isn’t even seated. Let’s see what happens. We’re celebrating that we flipped this seat and took back the House. It’s good for America.”
But it's hard to believe a Robert Zimmerman win over Santos would have bothered Cairo on a night when his other nominees ran the rest of the table. At GOP headquarters on Post Avenue in Westbury, D'Esposito rates as one of their own; Santos was always a question mark out of Queens, which has only a slice of the district.
Santos has become an instant national embarrassment as calls mount for his preemptive "resignation." Local GOP leaders who failed to drum up a qualified candidate have passed a problem on to Speaker-in-waiting Kevin McCarthy that he doesn't need. Republicans won their House majority by fewer seats than expected, making Santos’ flip of the 3rd Congressional District, long held by Democrats, more important than it might have been.
Operatives in both parties are already looking to 2024 — and speculating about an early vacancy. Presidential years usually prove broadly favorable to New York's down-ballot Democrats. Expect an early start for the next round in CD3 no matter who is challenging whom — or when.
Columnist Dan Janison's opinions are his own.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
