The candidate NY Republicans chose to replace George Santos has been a registered Democrat for more than a decade
Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images
- The House voted to expel Rep. George Santos from Congress on December 1.
- An election to fill his vacant seat will be held in mid-February 2024.
- New York Republicans have tapped a registered Democrat to be their nominee in the race.
New York Republicans have decided on their nominee to run in a special election to replace ousted Rep. George Santos: a registered Democrat.
The GOP's nomination for Mazi Melesa Pilip, an Ethiopian-born Jew, Israeli Defense Force veteran, and member of the Nassau County Legislature will officially be announced Friday.
While Pilip previously ran for a seat in the county legislature as a Republican — and still professes to be one — Politico revealed earlier in December that she's registered to vote as a Democrat.
Pilip beat out a slew of other hopeful GOP nominees including Kellen Curry, an Air Force veteran who accumulated endorsements from current and former members of Congress from around the country, and Daniel Norber, also an IDF veteran.
Santos has yet to say if he'll endorse Pilip or any other candidate in the race to replace him. He did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Earlier in the month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the special election to fill Santos' vacant seat will be held on February 13, 2024.
In it, Pilip will face off against Democrat and former Rep. Tom Suozzi, who lost his prior bid for reelection after racking up more than 300 violations of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act during his tenure.
Since being booted from the House, Santos has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from making personal videos on Cameo. He originally priced each video at $75 a piece but has since upped each to $500 as orders rushed in.
In just two days on the platform, Santos reportedly made more than he earned as a member of Congress.
As for the bevy of charges levied against him in court, Santos and his attornies are currently trying to negotiate a plea deal.