NORTH TONAWANDA, NY – Following his arrest for alleged insider trading, U.S. Rep. Chris Collins (R-27th District) has vowed to continue to seek re-election in November.
Even if they think that’s not a wise decision, the eight county republic chairmen within the congressional district- due to election law- can’t force him off the ballot.
That does not mean, however, that they aren’t planning strategies just in case Collins changes his mind.
“This is, this is a category five storm that he is running into right now,” Niagara County Republican Party Chairman Richard Andres said.
Though he still thinks Collins could win re-election in the heavily republican district, Andres has concerns about other republicans seeking office in his county, amid a potential backlash among voters against Collins.
“My concern is with my other slate of candidates,” Andres told 2 On Your Side.
“What’s the down ticket effect of something like this? And I've got a lot of calls from down ticket people who are concerned that this distraction could affect them."
However, Andres stopped short of saying Collins should bow out of the race.
“I would tell Chris Collins that he needs to do some soul searching and do what's best for the district. He’s always done what's best for the district in terms of his representation, and he needs to do the same looking forward."
In also explaining his hesitancy to call for Collins to resign, Andres also noted that Collins, while accused, has not been convicted.
“I have a hard time throwing a guy out if he’s innocent,” Andres said.
Andres says there is no plan, as far as he is aware, for the eight county chairmen in the district to meet with Collins. Nor, as of Friday evening, had there been any plan for the respective chairmen to formally meet among themselves regarding Collins.
He did indicate, however, that local republican leaders have been in contact with each other informally, and noted the importance of having another candidate in place should Collins suddenly change his mind about seeking re-election.