ABC News
Disgraced former Rep. George Santos has suspended a long shot comeback bid to represent New York's 1st Congressional District, he said on Tuesday, insisting that his challenge to incumbent Republican Rep. Nick LaLota would "all but guarantee" a Democrat takes the seat in November. "I don't want my run to be portrayed as reprisal against Nick Lalota… Although Nick and I don't have the same voting record and I remain critical of his abysmal record, I don't want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems," Santos, who has said he was switching his party affiliation from Republican to independent, said in a statement on X. LaLota has been dismissive of Santos but not of Santos' challenge itself, previously calling his former colleague an "embarrassment" and "one of the most bizarre people I have ever met" but saying he would take the race "seriously."