The one man not laughing over George Santos

All eyes — at least in the political world — are on the congressional special election in February to fill the seat that, until last week, was held by the now-expelled George Santos.
“Some candidates have already been floated, like Democrat Tom Suozzi, Republican Jack Martins, and Christophe Misterio, Swiss heir to the Toblerone Chocolate fortune,” late-night host Stephen Colbert said during his “Late Show” monologue Monday night, in front of a doctored picture of Santos with a bushy mustache disguise.
It’s a race that’s now getting laughs. But just a little over a year ago, the contest to replace Suozzi in a district that represents Long Island’s North Shore and parts of Queens was barely noticed, outside of the fact that it’s believed to be the first congressional race in history where both candidates were openly gay.
This was a district — albeit a redrawn one — that Joe Biden won in 2020, and one that had been held by a Democrat since Rick Lazio stepped down in his failed attempt to win a U.S. Senate seat against Hillary Clinton in 2001. It was Robert Zimmerman’s seat to lose, and no one expected that to happen.
But it did. And, at least statistically, it wasn’t even close.

That was a tough loss for Zimmerman, a founder of the Long Island public relations firm ZE Creative Communications. Just weeks later, however, a heavily researched exposé in The New York Times would change everything.
There were a number of aspects of Santos’ history that didn’t add up, and The Times believed were outright fabrications. Santos didn’t work for the Goldman Sachs investment company. There were no records he attended any of the prestigious schools he claimed, like Baruch College and the Horace Mann School in the Bronx. And it’s likely his net worth was far less than he claimed — to the point where he struggled to pay rent on a simple apartment.
Constituents quickly turned against Santos, and many of his fellow Republicans on Long Island did the same. Many called for his resignation, but Santos brushed it all off. In the meantime, some of the leadership in the U.S. House tried to make Santos as powerless as possible.
“This is all so much bigger than me,” Zimmerman said, at small Great Neck diner he likes to frequent, not far from where Santos’ district office was.
“There’s more at stake than my own hopes and dreams. And for a year now, our congressional district has not had a voice in Congress. We have not had representation. And even as bad as that is, it’s even worse: There was no one there to serve our constituents. And that’s the real travesty of what transpired.”
The race that had ended on Election Day in November really didn’t end after that exposé. Sure, a winner had been declared — and he was seated with the rest of the 118th Congress this past January. But Zimmerman said he was determined to expose every fabrication offered by Santos, and wouldn’t stop until the congressman was a congressman no more.
“It was a body blow” when Zimmerman lost to Santos, “but I was determined to get off the mat and get back out there. I felt I had an obligation to my values, to the many people who supported me — especially the young people — to get back out there.”
Zimmerman headlined rallies, worked to build a coalition to oust Santos, spread petitions, and talked to reporters whenever he could. Zimmerman also focused his attention on other races, pushing to get fellow Democrats elected.
“I didn’t want them to think I was walking away simply because there wasn’t something for me,” he said. “I wanted them to know I was there for them.”
His phone would ring off the hook from political activists and candidates — but then the people on the other end of the line starting changing dramatically.
“I started getting phone calls — sometimes weekly, sometimes a couple of times a month,” Zimmerman said. “They were from so many constituents who weren’t getting a response from Santos — his office — for everything like passport help, or small businesses needing assistance, or senior and veterans needing help.”
Zimmerman convinced some of his old campaign staff to volunteer and help where they could, directing people to the services they needed — something other local congressional members like Anthony D’Esposito and Andrew Garbarino also offered in light of the turmoil surrounding Santos.
“It wasn’t just me,” Zimmerman said. “We had to step up, because the mission of our campaign didn’t end with losing it. In fact, the loss really heightened the importance of what we were doing. It brought us together. It united us.”
Nearly a year and one or two House Speakers later, Santos was kicked out of Congress, and is now reportedly working out a plea deal with federal prosecutors over a number of charges that include wire fraud and identity theft. Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered a special election race to culminate on Feb. 13.
Democrats have already made their choice — the last member of the party to hold the seat, Tom Suozzi. Not only has Zimmerman pledged his full backing of Suozzi’s campaign, he didn’t even offer himself as the potential nominee chosen by party leaders.
It’s not that he won’t run again. Zimmerman has long dreamed of serving his country on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives from his days as a Capitol Hill intern. And if the opportunity presents itself, he says he’ll be there. Not just to fulfill his own dreams, but because of what Congress represents.
“People’s confidence in the democratic process was betrayed,” Zimmerman said. “People lost confidence in our democracy. They lost confidence in our system of governance.
“I used to sit up in the gallery and watch the debates. In those days, in my college years, I never dreamed that a gay kid from Long Island could really be there. But he can. I never stopped believing in our democracy, and we’ll keep fighting to restore confidence in our government, so that many more can dream — and succeed — of being a part of it, too.”