Well, we wont have Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) to dunk on anymore.

Congress expelled Santos , the biographical fabulist turned congressman, on Friday, two weeks after a House Ethics Committee report backed up federal charges accusing him of using campaign funds for personal expenses. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and accused prosecutors of engaging in a witch hunt against him.

But with Santos gone, that leaves a hole in the House and one that, with a narrow Republican majority, both parties are eager to take the opportunity to fill.

Democrats and Republicans have wasted no time preparing for a special election to fill Santos highly coveted seat for New Yorks 3rd Congressional District, which could help determine control of Congress in the 2024 election. The swing district encompasses a stretch of northeast Queens and northwestern Long Island that President Joe Biden carried in 2020 but that helped deliver Republicans the House by electing Santos in 2022.

And thats to say nothing about the strategic implications of the special election, whose timing and location will provide critical insight into the national political climate ahead of the 2024 presidential election.