George Santos | |
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Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 3rd district | |
Assuming office January 3, 2023 | |
Succeeding | Thomas Suozzi |
Personal details | |
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | July 22, 1988
Political party | Republican |
Education | Baruch College (BA) |
George Anthony Devolder Santos (born July 22, 1988) is an American politician and businessman from the state of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Santos was elected to represent New York's 3rd congressional district in 2022. Both he and his 2022 opponent, Robert Zimmerman, are openly gay, a first for a U.S. congressional election. He is the first openly gay non-incumbent Republican and the first Brazilian-American elected to Congress.
Upon taking office, Santos will also be one of only two Republicans to represent New York City in Congress, the other being Nicole Malliotakis.
Early life and career
Santos was born on July 22, 1988, to Brazilian immigrants in Jackson Heights, Queens.[1] His father is of Angolan ancestry and his maternal grandparents are Ukrainian Jews who settled in Belgium before taking refuge in Brazil during World War II.[2] He graduated from Baruch College in 2010, earning a bachelor's degree in finance and economics.
Santos began his career as an associate for Citigroup. He has also worked for MetGlobal and LinkBridge Investors.[3]
Political career
Santos is the first openly gay non-incumbent Republican elected to Congress[4] as well as the first Brazilian American elected to Congress.[5]
2020 U.S. House election
Santos ran for the United States House of Representatives in New York's 3rd congressional district against Thomas Suozzi in 2020.[1] He lost to Suozzi, 56% to 44%, a margin of about 40,000 votes.
2022 U.S. House election
In 2022, Santos once again ran for the 3rd congressional district, although the district borders were different following the 2020 redistricting cycle. He defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman on November 8[6][7] by over eight percentage points.[8] Santos and Zimmerman are both openly gay, making this the first instance of two openly LGBTQ candidates competing against one another in a general election for a seat in Congress.[9]
Political positions
Abortion
In a 2022 speech to the Whitestone Republican Club in Whitestone, Queens, Santos said, "All of us in this room can agree that when we look at slavery, it was barbaric. Fifty years from now, we're going to look back at what we're doing in this country, and we are going to say, 'We killed babies out of the womb? We aborted our own? That is barbaric.'"[10]
2020 election
On January 6, 2021, Santos attended former President Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" Rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. During an interview with CBS New York, Santos said that Trump "was energized" and that he gave "a great speech".[11] He never entered the United States Capitol grounds and later called January 6 a "sad and dark day".[12] He acknowledges that Joe Biden fairly won the 2020 election.[13]
Personal life
Santos lives in Whitestone, Queens. He is Jewish and openly gay.[14][6]
References
- ^ a b Lane, Laura (October 15, 2020). "Suozzi and Santos vie for 3rd Congressional District". Long Island Herald. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ "About". George Santos for Congress. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ "George Anthony Devolder Santos Announces His Run for Congress". The National Herald. November 15, 2019. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020.
- ^ Metzger, Bryan (November 9, 2022). "A gay Republican who said Trump was 'at his full awesomeness' on January 6 is headed to Congress". MSN. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ "Queens congressman-elect talks Jan. 6, being a gay Republican". www.ny1.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ a b Roy, Yancey (August 24, 2022). "Santos/Zimmerman congressional race breaking a barrier on LI". Newsday.
- ^ Lavietes, Matt (November 9, 2022). "In historic House race between gay candidates, Republican defeats Democrat, NBC News projects". NBC News. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "New York Third Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. November 8, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Moreau, Julie (September 22, 2022). "In a political first, two gay candidates face off in congressional election". NBC News.
- ^ "Long Island Congressional candidate George Santos compared reproductive rights to slavery". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
- ^ "Democrat Robert Zimmerman, Republican George Santos trade blows on "The Point with Marcia Kramer"". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
- ^ Metzger, Bryan. "A gay Republican who said Trump was 'at his full awesomeness' on January 6 is headed to Congress". Business Insider. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ "Queens congressman-elect talks Jan. 6, being a gay Republican". www.ny1.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Kassel, Matthew (November 10, 2022). "Meet the next Jewish Republican congressman from Long Island". Jewish Insider. Retrieved November 11, 2022.