Scandal-plagued New York Republican Congressman George Santos has his first official primary challenger for 2024, CNN reported.
On Monday, Afghanistan veteran Kellen Curry announced that he is challenging Santos in the Republican primary for New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
In a video posted on Twitter, Curry took a backhanded dig at the serial liar Santos by vowing to “restore honesty and integrity back to our congressional representation.”
A graduate of the US Air Force Academy, Curry served two tours in Afghanistan. After receiving an MBA from George Washington University, he became a vice president for JPMorgan’s corporate and investment banking division.
In a statement on his campaign website, Curry said he quit his day job to “take on a new mission” to run for Congress. He said when people ask why he would give up his “comfortable life” working for JP Morgan to run for public office, his answer is, “we deserve better.”
In his campaign press release, Curry criticized Santos for the “audacity of the lies” he told voters to raise campaign money and gain their support. But rather than focus on how Santos got elected in the first place, Curry said he is focusing on the solution, namely making sure Santos doesn’t get elected again.
Curry’s campaign vowed in a press release to “restore honorable leadership” to NY-03.
While he has not officially said he is planning to run for reelection in 2024, in March, Congressman Santos filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission.
The embattled Santos is facing federal and state investigations into his finances as well as a probe in the House Ethics Committee.
Republicans in Congress along with members of the local Nassau County Republican Party have called on Santos to resign his seat over the many fabrications he made about his personal biography during the 2022 midterm campaign.
