Poll: A majority of George Santos' constituents want him to resign

The New York Republican has been caught fabricating nearly his entire resume, including his religious affiliation, job history, and education.

A new poll released on Thursday has found that a majority of New York Republican Rep. George Santos' constituents want him to resign, following revelations that the freshman lawmaker lied about nearly his entire biography.

The survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling, found that 60% of voters in New York's 3rd Congressional District want Santos to resign, including 38% of Republicans.

Voters were most concerned about Santos' lies about his religious affiliation and the manner in which his mother died, the poll found. Santos said he was Jewish, which he isn't, and claimed his mother died in the 9/11 terror attack, but she didn't. The poll found 77% of voters are concerned about the 9/11 lie, while 72% of voters are concerned about his lie about being Jewish.

Newest article from NYT's on Santos:

Santos's Lies Were Known to Some Well-Connected Republicans

In late 2021, as he prepared to make a second run for a suburban New York City House seat, George Santos gave permission for his campaign to commission a routine background study on him.

Campaigns frequently rely on this kind of research, known as vulnerability studies, to identify anything problematic that an opponent might seize on. But when the report came back on Mr. Santos, the findings by a Washington research firm were far more startling, suggesting a pattern of deception that cut to the heart of the image he had cultivated as a wealthy financier.

Some of Mr. Santos's own vendors were so alarmed after seeing the study in late November 2021 that they urged him to drop out of the race, and warned that he could risk public humiliation by continuing. When Mr. Santos disputed key findings and vowed to continue running, members of the campaign team quit, according to three of the four people The New York Times spoke to with knowledge of the study.

The episode, which has not been previously reported, is the most explicit evidence to date that a small circle of well-connected Republican campaign professionals had indications far earlier than the public that Mr. Santos was spinning an elaborate web of deceits, and that the candidate himself had been warned about just how vulnerable those lies were to unraveling.