Indicted Rep. Chris Collins changes course, will remain on November ballot

ALBANY — Rep. Chris Collins will remain on the ballot this fall despite being indicted in August on federal insider-trading charges, changing his mind after suspending his campaign more than five weeks ago.

Erie County Republican Chair Nick Langworthy said Monday that Collins, R-Clarence, had reversed course and decided to keep his spot on the November ballot, despite the indicted House member pledging as recently as last week to cooperate with efforts to remove him.

Collins informed Langworthy of the decision Monday morning, saying he was acting on the advice of his criminal-defense attorneys. 

"This is something we did not expect to happen," Langworthy said.

The move sets up a battle between Collins and Democrat Nate McMurray to represent the state's 27th congressional district, which covers the conservative, mostly rural areas between Buffalo and Rochester.

In a brief statement, an attorney for Collins confirmed the decision.

“Because of the protracted and uncertain nature of any legal effort to replace Congressman Collins we do not see a path allowing Congressman Collins to be replaced on the ballot," said Mark Braden, Collins' legal counsel.

More:Fraud charges against Rep. Chris Collins explained

Collins was indicted in August and accused of passing along insider information about a pharmaceutical company to his son, who sold off shares before the news became public.

Republican leaders had been working to remove him from the November ballot, with Langworthy claiming the party had identified a "crystal clear" path to replace him.

But any effort to replace Collins needed the congressman's cooperation because the federal primary elections had already passed, meaning Collins would have had to accept a Republican nomination to another office or move out of state to be removed.

At a press conference in Buffalo, Langworthy said he felt "a bit like a jilted groom at the altar" because Republicans were going to choose Collins' replacement this week.

"There's nothing in my power or any other Republican leader here or in Washington can do to tell him, 'You're off the ballot,'" Langworthy said. "That's not how it works."

Party leaders had spent weeks identifying local nominations Collins could have accepted, and Langworthy suggested a local official was willing to "do a selfless act" — resign, likely — to clear a spot for him.

More:Andreatta: Ditching Chris Collins isn't easy

Now, Democrats are hopeful the embattled Collins could be vulnerable in the fall, when he will face off against McMurray, the Grand Island supervisor.

Even still, it will be a tough sell for Democrats: The district, which includes all or part of eight counties, voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 by 24 points. Collins was the first congressman to endorse Trump's presidential bid.

It is the state's most heavily Republican district and Collins has won easily in the two most recent election cycles, but McMurray and national Democrats are hoping Collins' indictment boosts his chances for an upset.

In a coincidence, Democratic National Committee Tom Perez, a Buffalo native, was in the area Monday to help open McMurray's campaign headquarters

In a statement, McMurray said it was "nice to finally know who I'm running against" but that he "always knew we were running against Chris Collins.

"There are laws for a reason," McMurray said. "There is accountability in our society for a reason. And in the greatest democracy in the world, voters weren’t going to take this kind of sham switching around names on a ballot at the whims of local party bosses."

It remains unclear how aggressively Collins intends to campaign for the seat, if at all.

Collins will be on the Republican, Conservative and Independent party lines under New York's fusion-voting system, which allows candidates to hold multiple ballot lines.

Collins' office referred comment to his attorney. 

Langworthy said he doesn't know "what method (Collins) will use to campaign."

But Langworthy did emphasize the congressional district's enthusiasm for Trump in 2016, calling a vote for McMurray a "vote to impeach the president."

"(Collins) has a vast war chest of $1.3 million," Langworthy said. "I assume he will put that to work if he's going to remain on the ballot."

The congressman's decision was a reversal from his prior pledges to cooperate with efforts to remove him from the ballot.

As recently as last week, Collins said he would "cooperate fully" with efforts to remove him from the ballot after suspending his campaign in August.

"I've expressed to the county leaders, the eight county chairs, I will cooperate fully in deferring to them as they look for someone to replace me on the ballot," Collins said in an interview with WIVB-TV on Sept. 10. "Other than that, I am not involved."