Getty Images Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) walks out of a New York court house after being charged with insider trading in August. He now says he will stay on the ballot and seek reelection
Congressmen Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter are trying to do something no one has done in 28 years: Win reelection under indictment.
Collins on Monday indicated he would resume his campaign despite facing federal charges of insider trading. He was indicted last month.
New York law doesn’t make it easy to replace candidates on the ballot so close to an election. Collins insisted he gives his party the best chance to hold onto conservative-leaning congressional district in the far western part of the state.
“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,” a lawyer for the representative said in a statement.
Collins won 67% of the vote in 2016 and 71% in 2014. He is noted for being the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for president during his campaign two years ago.
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The New York congressman is the second Republican who’s chosen to stay on the ballot this fall after being accused of wrongdoing. Rep. Duncan Hunter of California is also trying to retain his seat following federal charges that he used campaign money for personal use.
Lawmakers rarely remain on the ballot or win reelection after being indicted. The last congressman to do so was Floyd Flake in 1990. The Queens Democrat was accused of tax evasion and other charges, but he was easily reelected.
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Flake was later vindicated when all 17 counts against him were dropped.
Others who’ve sought to hang on, such as Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson, lost reelection.
Stevens was ousted in 2008 while fighting charges that a major political donor paid for a home renovation. The longtime Republican senator won 46.5% of the vote compared to his opponent’s 47.8% margin.
His conviction was eventually overturned because of prosecutorial misconduct.
Jefferson, for his part, was re-elected in 2006 months after the FBI raided his office in a corruption probe. He lost his heavily Democratic seat in 2008 by a 49% to 47% margin following his indictment.
More recently, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey fought off federal charges of bribery and fraud. He was indicted one year after his reelection in 2012 and a mistrial was declared in 2017.
The government dropped the charges earlier this year, paving the way for his reelection effort this fall.
