A Republican challenger to indicted Rep. George Santos (R-NY) raised more than $200,000 from more than 500 donors in the second quarter of the year, his first quarter as a candidate, the campaign announced.
Kellen Curry, an Afghanistan Veteran and a former vice president at J.P. Morgan, announced he was challenging Santos in April, and since then, his campaign, combined with a Leadership PAC supporting him, has raised more than $200,000.
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“We knew we had to demonstrate strength right out of the gate,” Curry said in a statement. “I am proud of our small but mighty team for all the work we put in and I am humbled by the hundreds of people that made a downpayment on our ultimate goal of winning this race so we can get back to doing the business of the people.”
As of April 1, Santos only has $25,096 on hand, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Santos was charged with 13 federal charges: seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), has said he would not call on Santos to resign from Congress unless he was found guilty. But, the speaker did say he would not support Santos for reelection and that the embattled congressman “shouldn’t run.” Santos said McCarthy’s comments don’t change his plans.
In addition, House Democrats tried to force a vote on a resolution to expel Santos from the House, that resolution was tabled, and the House referred the resolution to the House Ethics Committee.
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In a rare statement, the chairman and ranking member of the Ethics Committee released an update on its inquiry into Santos on June 2. The committee said it had issued more than 30 subpoenas and more than 40 voluntary requests for information.
“The Committee is aware of the risks associated with dual investigations and is in communication with the Department of Justice to mitigate the potential risks while still meeting the Committee’s obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House,” the chairman and ranking member said.