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The vast majority of voters in a new poll of embattled New York Republican Rep. George Santos' district want the congressman to resign amid the litany of scandals and revelations he misled voters about his biography.
Seventy-eight percent of voters in the state's 3rd Congressional district want Santos' resignation (including 89% of Democrats, 72% of independents/others and 71% of Republicans), compared to just 13% who do not want him to step down, according to the latest Newsday/Siena College poll.
Santos is viewed unfavorably by 83% of the voters in the district, according to the poll, a view again shared by the majority of people across partisan stripes (just 7% view him favorably).
More than seven-in-ten voters do not believe he can be an effective representative and that it was wrong for Republican leaders to tap him to serve on his committees.
Sixty-three percent of Santos voters say they wouldn't have voted for him if they knew what they know now, while 31% say they still would have voted for him.
“NY 3 voters overwhelmingly and unambiguously say Rep. Santos should resign. Whether you look it at by party, gender, race, age, religion, income, or which county the voters live in, the answer is the same: resign,” Siena College Poll Director Don Levy said in a statement released alongside the poll.
“Similarly, voters of every party and every demographic breakdown know who Santos is, are following the news about Santos, and view Santos unfavorably.”
Weeks after winning a Long Island-area district in a competitive general election, reports began to emerge suggesting Santos exaggerated his background (at one point, he said he wasn't presenting himself as Jewish, but "Jew-ish").
He now faces a slew of investigations, including those related to his campaign finances, but has so far bucked calls to step down.
Newsday polled 653 registered voters in New York's 3rd Congressional District between Jan. 23-26 by telephone. The margin of error in the poll is +/- 4.4%.