Indicted Congressman Does U-Turn, Revives Campaign

Chris Collins says the 'stakes are too high'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 20, 2018 3:50 AM CDT
Indicted Congressman Does U-Turn, Revives Campaign
Rep. Chris Collins speaks in Cleveland.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

A Republican lawmaker who dropped out of a House race in upstate New York after being charged with insider trading has decided to drop back in. Rep. Chris Collins, the first member of Congress to endorse President Trump, said in a statement that constituents in his Buffalo-area district can now count on him to "actively campaign" for the 27th District seat. "The stakes are too high to allow the radical left to take control of this seat in Congress," Collins said, warning that his opponents want to impeach Trump and "impose Canadian-style health care," among other things. Collins had been on course to easily win the heavily Republican district before his indictment in August, NPR reports.

Prosecutors say Collins, while serving on the board of Australian company Innate Immunotherapeutics, warned his son Cameron about a failed drug trial, helping the son, the father of the son's fiancee, and other individuals avoid $768,000 in losses by selling stock before the trial results were made public. Collins has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. Nate McMurray, Collins' Democratic rival, said in a statement that it "looks like the criminal is returning to the scene of the crime," CNBC reports. "Chris, if you're listening from Manhattan, here are a few words you may remember, 'lock him up' 'drain the swamp,'" McMurray said. "I welcome you on the campaign trail, sir. Bring it." (More Chris Collins stories.)

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