Since his indictment in May, New York GOP House Representative George Santos has managed to raise an unexpected $133,000 from primarily first-time donors, RadarOnline.com has learned.
A significant portion of Santos’ fundraising was made in just three days, between May 20 and May 22, totaling $101,861. According to his recent campaign finance report, these donations were made by several individuals with Chinese surnames, most of whom contributed the maximum allowable amount of $3,300.
26 of these donors had never previously given to Santos, and for 14 of them, this was their first-ever political contribution.
On June 23, another $24,100 was donated by contributors, all of whom had never previously supported Santos.
Surprisingly, a large portion of this money went directly into the congressman’s personal pocket. Out of the $125,961 received from these donors, approximately $66,000 came from individuals who had never contributed to any federal committee before, while over $50,000 came from first-time Santos donors.
Out of all his donors this quarter, only a small number had previously supported him, which amounted to just $157 of the total $133,000 raised.
According to the Daily Beast, many of the numbers associated with these donors led to automated voice messages, while others were unresponsive or had language barriers.
However, one donor did explain to the outlet the reason behind their contribution to the embattled congressman. The donor referred to Santos’ sponsorship of a bill aimed at supporting Guo Wengui, a self-identified Chinese Communist Party dissident facing federal charges related to a billion-dollar fraud scheme.
The donor believed that Santos’ work aligned with their own beliefs in benefiting the United States and the world, leading them to contribute to his campaign.
“He is working on the direction that I believe will benefit the United States of America and the world,” this donor told the outlet. “So when he asked to chip in, I chip in.”
“I support him because he is not a talker,” the donor texted. “He did what he promised. He said he will propose a #FreeMilesGuo bill, he actually did it.”
The donor, who appears in prior FEC records, said that while he had supported other candidates based on their promises, he had been “disappointed every time.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Santos was arrested after a bombshell indictment charged him with fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements to officials. Prosecutors accused him of embezzling money from his campaign. Santos denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Since then, Santos has fought to keep the identity of those who paid his $500,000 bail sealed from public record.
He even recently made a controversial parallel between himself and civil rights activist Rosa Parks, stating that he refuses to “sit in the back.”