NY-03: George Santos (R)

(NOTE: According to recent reports, Santos has misrepresented several aspects of his personal and professional life. The details of his work history and educational background listed below have been independently confirmed by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and other news organizations.[i] [ii] [iii] [iv] Any of Santos’ claims proven false or yet to be confirmed have been omitted.)

Replacing: Tom Suozzi (D)[v]

WORK HISTORY: Devolder Organization (Manager); Harbor City Capital Corporation (Regional Director); LinkBridge Investors (Vice President)[vi] [vii]

EDUCATION: N/A

CAMPAIGNED ON: Inflation; Safety; Taxes; Energy; Pandemic Preparedness[viii]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Santos is “unapologetically pro life,” and supported the decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and leaving it up to the states to decide abortion policy.[ix] [x] He has previously accused Democrats of being “pro infanticide,” and would be in favor of criminal charges for doctors who perform abortions if they were outlawed. He says he would vote in favor a federal abortion ban.[xi] [xii]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

On his campaign website, Santos argues “high taxes” are a major issue for New Yorkers and “spending in Washington DC is out of control.” In office, he is “committed to supporting a bill that would change the tax code to a flat tax rate,” that would lower taxes and the simplify tax code. Santos is also “committed to cutting marginal income tax rates, capital gains tax rates, corporate income tax rates and eliminating the ‘Death Tax.’” He will work to “amend the SALT deduction on the 2017 tax code in order to best benefit his constituents of the district.”[xiii] Santos has blamed rising inflation on Democrats and Biden’s “reckless spending.” He opposed the Inflation Reduction Act.[xiv] [xv] [xvi]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

Santos has previously said he would not vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but he would like it to be replaced “with a better health care system.” He opposes Medicare for All.[xvii] [xviii] Santos argues that the US could establish “high quality healthcare for all American citizens by simply removing the burden of illegal immigration that plague’s our Country’s coffers.”[xix] During his 2020 congressional campaign, Santos asserted the Social Security “was not an entitlement,” and suggested “major reforms” to the program, including partial privatization.[xx] He strongly opposes mask and vaccine mandates.[xxi] [xxii] [xxiii]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

Santos has argued the Democratic platform includes “open borders” and “illegal immigration.”[xxiv] During his 2020 congressional campaign, Santos advocated for a bill that would “halt legal immigration with minimum exceptions” until a system was established for all immigrants to achieve Green Card eligibility after ten years.[xxv] He has accused Democrats of endangering Americans “with their fast and loose border policy” and supports building a southern border wall.[xxvi]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

On his campaign website, Santos argues “crime is spiraling out of control not only in New York, but in major cities across the nation,” adding that it is “essential that we defend and fund our law enforcement.” He is “completely against” New York’s elimination of cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, asserting it “allows dangerous criminals to roam our cities and streets.”[xxvii] [xxviii] He has accused Democrats of being “soft-on-crime” and giving criminals “a get-out-of-jail-free card.”[xxix]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

In a now-deleted tweet, Santos claimed there was “rampant FRAUD” in the 2020 election and called on the FBI, CIA, and DOJ to “intervene.” He later suggested Trump won the 2020 presidential election and attended the January 6 rally at the US Capitol.[xxx] [xxxi] [xxxii] Following his 2020 congressional loss to Rep. Tom Suozzi, Santos made accusations of “fraud, irregularities, and a Democratic effort to stop him from winning because he is gay.” He was unable to provide proof for his allegations, but noted his campaign was “pursuing legal proceedings” at the time.[xxxiii] Santos further described himself as “a victim in 2020 just like the president. I was elected on election night and 10 days later they took my victory away from me.”[xxxiv]

EDUCATION:

In 2020, Santos praised then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and supported her efforts “to expand educational opportunities for poor children who are locked in underperforming inner city schools.”[xxxv] He has expressed support for school choice, which he argued “essentially takes kids that are willing to learn out of failing school districts and put them in better school districts.” If elected, Santos says he would sponsor legislation “to secure infrastructure dollars in relation to education, accelerate the school voucher program and increase accessibility to specialized schools.”[xxxvi] He strongly opposes Critical Race Theory being taught in schools, arguing “our children deserve a quality education free from political ideologies pushed by the Left.”[xxxvii] [xxxviii]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

On his campaign website, Santos says the “price of energy is out of control” and accuses Democrats of creating “a crisis at the pump.” He advocates for US energy independence, asserting it will create “thousands of jobs” and “make the cost of living cheaper all around.”[xxxix] Santos has previously argued that investments to fight climate change are “perpetuated and pushed forward by multi-billion dollar corporations who make billions of dollars on the backs of these so-called programs.”[xl] He opposes the Green New Deal.[xli]

BIG TECH & DATA PRIVACY:

Santos believes Big Tech companies have “engaged in Election interference,” are politically biased, and “altered the course of American history through censorship.”[xlii] [xliii] [xliv] As a member of Congress, he will “ensure that Big Tech is held accountable,” and has called on Congress to dismantle Facebook “ASAP.”[xlv] [xlvi]

GUN SAFETY:

Santos has argued that gun ownership does not lead to rising crime rates, but rather “homes without discipline and hearts without God are the root causes.”[xlvii] He says the Second Amendment should be “safeguard[ed]” and believes no new gun control laws are necessary “beyond the laws on the books.”[xlviii] [xlix] He holds an “AQ” rating with the NRA and is endorsed by the guns rights organization.[l]foreign policy: Santos has accused Democrats of being “Pro China and Iran” and has called for China to be held accountable for getting away with “murder.” He has accused China of genocide and claimed he refused to watch the 2022 Beijing Olympics, asserting, “let me know when a country that doesn’t engage in human rights abuses is the Olympic host.”[li][lii][liii] Santos has criticized Biden’s willingness “to start a war in Eastern Europe and send American soldiers to a deadly combat zone to protect Ukraine’s border,” but failing to secure the US’ southern border.[liv] He further blamed Biden for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, citing his “frail leadership,” and said it would have been avoide