Tom
Suozzi, a Democrat who had represented the district before
Santos and who had resigned to mount an ultimately unsuccessful
run for governor, is among the 20 candidates who are vying for
the seat.
Local party leaders are expected to choose the candidates in
lieu of nominating contests after the special election date is
set.
Other Democrats vying for the seat include a former state
senator, a chief executive at a surgery center and a county
legislator.
A retired police detective, a former bank vice president and a
personal-injury lawyer are among the people seeking the
Republican nomination.
Santos has said he does not plan to try to run for the seat
again.
Santos became the sixth person in history to be expelled from
the House of Representatives in a bipartisan 311-114 vote on
Dec. 1.
Since shortly after his November 2022 election, Santos had been
embroiled in controversy for fabricating significant portions of
his biography on the campaign trail. His troubles deepened when
federal prosecutors charged him with laundering campaign funds
and defrauding donors.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to those charges, with his trial
scheduled to start on Sept. 9, 2024.
A scathing Ethics Committee report issued on Nov. 16 said Santos
had used campaign funds for personal purpose and engaged in
fraudulent conduct. As part of its probe, the congressional
investigators referred additional allegations of uncharged and
unlawful conduct to the Justice Department.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Scott Malone)
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