Former Congressman George Santos is ending his independent bid to return to Congress after being expelled from the House earlier this year.

Mr. Santos had been running as a candidate in the First Congressional District in New York, though March Federal Election Commission filings disclosed that the former congressman had no fundraising and no expenditures in March.

Mr. Santos’s campaign began as a primary challenge to Congressman Nick LaLota, though Mr. Santos later announced that he was leaving the GOP behind.

“Although Nick and I don’t have the same voting record and I remain critical of his abysmal record, I don’t want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems,” Mr. Santos wrote in a tweet. “Staying in this race all but guarantees a victory for the Dems in the race.”

Mr. Santos is also facing federal charges stemming from his alleged deception of Congress concerning his personal finances and allegedly stealing campaign funds. He also faces charges for alleged unemployment fraud. His trial is set to begin later this year.

Mr. Santos is also involved in a lawsuit against late night host Jimmy Kimmel, who Mr. Santos says tricked him into making videos on  Cameo that were later used on his TV show.

“Defendants openly admitted to deceiving the Plaintiff under the guise of fandom, soliciting personalized videos only to then broadcast these on national television and across social media channels for commercial gain — actions that starkly violate the original agreement and constitute clear copyright infringement,” the civil lawsuit against Mr. Kimmel reads.

The lawsuit, which also names ABC and Disney as defendants, alleges copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

“Kimmel not only boasted about intentionally deceiving Plaintiff, but played on the comedic irony of possibly getting sued by Plaintiff for fraud, claiming that it would be a ‘dream come true,’” the lawsuit reads.