Chris Collins (R-NY) Is Really Bad-- And Out On Bail-- But You Can Support Nate McMurray Without Even Thinking About Collins' Unsuitability

For the past decade, the DCCC has been wrong about one of their most basic tenets-- to win in red districts candidates have to go-- or be-- GOP-lite. This has proven a disastrous, failed policy but one the DCCC has dug in on. This cycle, for example, nearly every single candidate they recruited and nearly every single candidate they are supporting with money is a New Dem or Blue Dog from the Republican wing of the party. The only reason to vote for almost any of them is... Trump. Their recruits are, literally, almost all putrid. One candidate they didn't recruit and who is anything but putrid, is Nate McMurray, the progressive Democrat running in western New York (NY-27), a district too red for the DCCC to have bothered to insert one of their repulsive GOP-lite candidates. (Virtually every worthwhile candidate running is either from that kind of a district-- one the DCCC ignored-- or who jumped in on their own and won the primary.) Anyway, over the weekend the editorial board of the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post, a right-wing paper, announced their congressional endorsements for 10 districts in New York and New Jersey. For all the DCCC's efforts to recruit especially vile New Dems and Blue Dogs, the only Democrat endorsed by the Post was for PROGRESSIVE Nate McMurray. Ironically, The Post denigrated all the DCCC GOP-lite recruits, from right-wing NRA-loving Blue Dog Anthony Brindisi, who the Post referred to as "a typical liberal Democrat," and Wall Street owned New Dem incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney to clueless militaristic New Dems like Mikie Sherrill and Tom Malinowski. On the other hand, this is what the crazy right-wing Murdoch paper told their readers to do about NY-27:

The one Democrat to win The Post’s backing is Nate McMurray. Not that we find him so impressive, but he’s running against Rep. Chris Collins, who’s under federal indictment for securities fraud and in­sider trading. After first agreeing to drop out, Collins changed his mind and plainly means to use the seat as a chip in plea-bargaining, just as Staten Island’s Michael Grimm did. Again, voters should return the incumbent’s contempt. Republicans can try to retake the seat in 2020.

I guess Medicare-For-All isn't what they liked about Nate. But voters he talks to about it are starting to come around.

Chris Collins was the first member of Congress to endorse Trump-- and there's virtually no one in Congress who has been more of a rubber-stamp. The second member of Congress to endorse Trump was Duncan Hunter. I'm embarrassed to say that I can't remember which one of them was arrested by the FBI and indicted first. The dates were very close, so it hardly matters Collins and Hunter were both indicted on a myriad of unrelated corruption charges.

The odds are a lot better than 538 forecasts

The corruption issue is why even The Post endorsed Nate. The anti-corruption planks of Nate's platform are resonating with voters in a big way, especially because of Collins' impending trial (2020) or-- more likely, plea-bargain. Meanwhile, Nate's Clean up Corruption Plan is going over very well. "Corruption on both sides of the aisle is all too familiar to the people of Western New York, from Chris Collins’ recent indictment for insider trading and lying to the FBI to the guilty pleas of former Erie Democratic Chair Steve Pigeon. Elected officials," he wrote, "should work on behalf of the people they represent and no one else-- not corporate boards, not special interests, their constituents. It’s that simple. We know the consequences of a man like Mr. Collins all too well in this region: their greed robs us as taxpayers and their betrayal undermines our faith in democracy. It is the antithesis of public service. In Congress, I will fight for this to limit special interests’ influence on our leaders and elections. We deserve better.” This is an outline of the plan he's been sharing with NY-27 voters:

Political Corruption by Nancy Ohanian

• Enact far stricter limits on political contributions from special interests, lobbyists and wealthy special interests. Nate has voluntarily imposed  a ban on corporate PAC money for his campaign, but this should be the law for all candidates.
• Prohibit Members of Congress from sitting on for-profit corporate boards.
• Pass tougher campaign finance laws and more transparent disclosures of outside political spending.
• Overturn the disastrous Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates for unlimited, untraceable spending in our elections.

As you'd expect, Nate has funded his campaign the right way. Nearly 6,000 different people contributed to his campaign in the last three months. More than 4,600 of them gave $50 or less. In fact, the average donation was under $70. Good fodder for debates, right? Yeah-- and maybe that's partially why Collins keeps skipping out on them-- and why he refuses to sit down with the media for any interviews. A few days ago they were supposed to do a forum at SUNY Geneseo and-- par for the course-- Collins was a no-show.

Nate remarked that "If Chris Collins doesn’t show up for the voters now, how can they believe he’d show up for them in Congress? We already know the answer-- he hasn’t. And he won’t. He was arrested by President Trump’s justice department for insider trading, he’s out on bail, he’s using his position as member of Congress to stay out of prison, and he doesn’t want anyone to ask him about it. After the forum, voters came up to me to say 'we’re so glad you came. Chris Collins never comes here.' They know that country is more important than party and they deserve a representative who works every day to protect Medicare and Social Security, fights for farmers and supports small businesses."

Nate has been crisscrossing the district all year talking to voters and holding public events. He’s pledged to hold one town hall per month once elected. The only opportunity anyone has to hear from Collins is via his poisonous and deceitful TV ads against Nate. Unless you're a fat cat donor, you don't get to see him in person.

On Monday, Joseph Spector at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: broke the news that the race-- which the DCCC had originally written off as unwinnable-- is now a dead-heat.

I usually warn readers that the NY Times-Siena polls are worthless and that they don't give any real indiction about who's going to win. They just don't know how to poll in races outside New York. But they do know how to poll New York and their polls are worth considering in the New York state races. The new one they just released for NY-27 stunned many political observers. The district has a daunting R+11 PVI, Obama lost it both times and Trump trounced Hillary 59.7% to 35.2%, her worst performance-- by far-- in any New York district. But Nate, a progressive, is no Hillary Clinton and it's worth remembering that Bernie won the district handily in the 2016 primary.

In the new poll, the candidates are within the margin of error-- Collins with46% and McMurray with 43%, although only Collins was up on TV during the polling. The poll also found that Collins has a 37% favorability rating with 49% unfavorable rating, compared to a favorabilty rating of 32% for McMurray who has a 21% unfavorable and still needs to get better known. You can contribute to his campaign by clicking on the Blue America 2018 congressional thermometer on the right. It will help to get his name and his message out to more voters in this largely rural district.

“The indicted incumbent, who only recently reignited his campaign after initially suspending it, ekes out a small advantage over his challenger,” Siena College poll spokesman Steven Greenberg said in a statement.

“Republican Collins holds a narrow three-point lead over Democrat McMurray in a district that has more than 40,000 more Republicans than Democrats."

The district favored Republicans maintaining control of the House by 18 percentage points, but was split over Collins and McMurray, the poll said.

While McMurray was supported by nearly three-quarters of Democrats, Collins has the support of 19 percent of them, Greenberg said.

However, McMurray did better than Collins with the opposite party, with nearly one-quarter of Republicans backing McMurray, the poll found.

“Collins is well known but not particularly well liked," Greenberg said.

"Only Republicans view him favorably, and that’s not overwhelming at 48-35 percent. In fact, one of every eight Collins voters views him unfavorably."

Conversely, Republicans approved of President Donald Trump by 74 percent to 17 percent.

Collins was charged with giving insider information about a pharmaceutical company to his son, who then allegedly sold off shares before the news became public. The case isn't set for trial until 2020.

Ready for some more irony? Murdoch and his editorial board aren't the only Republicans backing Nate. There's now an official Republicans For Nate organization helping to flip voters-- and that's without Nate going all GOP-lite on us. Nate: "From the beginning, our campaign has been about the values of this region, economic fairness and integrity. My commitment was never to any one party, it was always to families like mine, and hardworking folks worried about healthcare and social security, wanting a system that works for them, knowing we deserve better than a member of Congress out on bail. I may not agree with everyone on every issue, but I promise to listen and truly represent the people of this region. If you believe in America First, that means you also believe that party has to come second-- and that should be true for Democrats or Republicans. I’m humbled by the support of such hardworking patriots who know we need to put country over party... Voters from all backgrounds can’t run away fast enough from Chris Collins. Every day I meet more regular folks who believe in putting country over party. They’re sick of the fighting, sick of being lied to, and embarrassed to be represented by a man out on bail. Voters are smarter than Mr. Collins gives them credit for... We don’t all agree on every issue, but I will always listen and truly represent the people of our region."

Founded by Cecily Molak, Republicans for Nate has steering committee members from across the district who will lead outreach to their fellow Republicans on behalf of Nate. They include Theron Howard, a former town supervisor from Pavilion, as well as veterans and GOP activists.  Since the August indictment, national and local Republicans have been turning their back on Collins. Paul Ryan stripped him of all his committee assignments and the NRCC said they would "not give a dime" to this race. And the House Ethics Committee voted unanimously to investigate him.

Molak, who's from the eastern part of the district in Monroe County: "When I voted for Chris Collins in the 2016 election, I had no idea that a few months later I’d be filing a complaint against him with the Office of Congressional Ethics. I didn’t know that he’d sold us out to make himself, his family and his friends even richer. We have a right to demand that our government officials act ethically and in our interests. I’m convinced Nate McMurray will do just that. I’m voting for Nate in November, and so are almost all my Republican friends."

Charles Brown of South Wales, a longtime Republican who joined the steering committee, said he's "disgusted with Chris Collins and the way he’s enabled a national agenda I just can’t agree with. I watch what Nate has done on Grand Island, using practical experience, hard work and intelligence to bring growth and opportunity to his constituents. Nate has integrity and toughness. We need smart minds and fresh approaches to the old problems that the current tired old bunch in Washington refuse to do anything about. In my mind, Nate McMurray is the man for the job.”

Theron Howard, the former two-term Town Supervisor from Pavilion, NY said that he had crossed over to back a progressive Democrat because he "realized that there is no Republican candidate for New York’s 27th congressional seat that I could in good conscience vote for. Rather than allow my absence from the polls to, in effect, give a vote for the status quo, I took a close look at Nate McMurray. I was immediately impressed with what I saw. He embodies the qualities we want for our elected officials and is not afraid to come out and meet with the people he seeks to represent. He is tuned in to the issues that are important to all of us and not just a privileged few. He has my unqualified support and I urge everyone to carefully consider our options on November 6th, forget about blurred party lines, and vote for Nate McMurray for truly quality representation in Congress.”

Alan Knight (USAF Ret) lives in Canandaigua, also in the eastern part of the district. He explained that "Just because I’m a Republican doesn’t mean I’ll vote for a criminal. I met Nate at a roundtable with veterans like myself. He took the time to listen to us and pledged to continue to meet with us and address the concerns of the veterans community in Congress."

See what I mean about how wrong the DCCC is about insisting their candidates run as inauthentic GOP-lite-- or, worse, as authentic GOP-lite.

WGRZ Tracks Down Trumpist Crook Chris Collins (NY-27) And Makes Him Answer 2 Questions

How does a progressive Democrat will in a Republican district with an R+11 PVI? Nate McMurray got a helping hand when the FBI barged into Republican incumbent Chris Collins' Manhattan penthouse and arrested him on a long list of charges related to Insider Trading. But that doesn't put him-- nor Ammar Compa-Najjar, who is also running against an indicted right-wing felon on the other side of the country (San Diego's equally red suburbs)-- into the seat.

Like I said, this is a helluva red district and there are many right wing voters who would prefer to elect a crooked Republican than a Democrat. McMurray hopes his first ad (above) will introduce him to NY-27 voters in a way they can relate to. He's running it both the Buffalo and Rochester media markets. He can use some help keeping it on the air and please consider contributing by tapping on the congressional thermometer on the right. Right now the race is in a dead heat-- even with the huge amount of money Collins has spent against him, smearing him in every conceivable way in the hope of getting Democrats and independents to just throw up their hands in disgust and not vote, the idea being, of course, that they're both corrupt. That's what an indicted felon has to do. Duncan Hunter is pulling a similar stunt on Ammar, who he's trying to paint as an Arab terrorist, even though Ammar passed a very tight security test when he worked in the Obama administration, a test Hunter could never pass-- not just because he's a drug abuser but because of the 36 page indictment. Paul Ryan kicked him off the House Arms Services Committee as a national security risk. So, try to tar your opponent with the same brush... the Republican strategy.

McMurray's not buying in to the negativity and has kept his campaign positive and issue-oriented. Collins has been ducking debates and interviews and any kind of public exposure. But... David McKinley from Buffalo power house station WGRZ wrote that he had tracked Collins down and got him to answer a couple of questions before he scurried away. "After months of trying to get a hold of Representative Chris Collins to get your questions answered," he wrote, "2 On Your Side has finally tracked him down. In an exclusive interview with 2 On Your Side's Dave McKinley, we found Collins and he spoke with us for a couple minutes outside the Brookside Banquet Hall in Newfane. The Niagara County Republican Party was holding a meeting the candidates event there. [Neither] the Niagara County GOP Party nor the Collins campaign made mention that he would be attending the event. If you take a look at the party's website, candidates that were invited were named except for Collins. We are the station that holds the people in power accountable and we brought the tough questions to Rep. Collins."

Dave McKinley: HOW CAN YOU ASK SOMEONE TO VOTE FOR SOMEONE WHO IS UNDER INDICTMENT?

Rep. Chris Collins: "WELL VERY SIMPLE, I'M INNOCENT. SO I'M REMINDING PEOPLE OF MY SIX YEAR VOTING RECORD, MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS SEAT STAYING REPUBLICAN TO KEEP NANCY PELOSI FROM BEING SPEAKER TO KEEP JERRY NADLER FROM BEING CHAIR OF JUDICIARY TO KEEP MAXINE WATERS FROM BEING CHAIR OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES. THIS IS ABOUT PROTECTING TRUMP AND THE DIRECTION OF THIS COUNTRY FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS AS OPPOSE TO GRIDLOCK, INVESTIGATIONS, INQUISITIONS, IMPEACHMENTS. IT'S THAT SIMPLE."

Dave McKinley: YOU TALK ABOUT BEING EXONERATED AT TRIAL, YOUR TRIAL DATE WAS SET TODAY, IF YOU EVER GET TO TRIAL, FEBRUARY OF 2020. HOW EFFECTIVE CAN A CONGRESSMAN LIKE YOURSELF BE WITH A MILLSTONE AROUND HIS NECK?

Rep. Chris Collins: "THERE IS NO MILLSTONE AROUND MY NECK, I'VE BEEN IN CONGRESS SINCE THE INDICTMENT. UM, I'M BEING TREATED LIKE I'VE ALWAYS BEEN TREATED. I'M, I HAVE NOT MISSED A VOTE. I AM SPONSORING LEGISLATION, I'M CO-SPONSORING LEGISLATION. I HAVE FOLKS COMING THROUGH MY OFFICE TALKING ABOUT THE ISSUES IMPORTANT TO THEM. I'M IN DISCUSSION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION. LET ME TELL YOU DAVE, NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN MY RELATIONSHIP IN CONGRESS WITH MY FELLOW MEMBERS OR WHAT I'M DOING A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS SINCE THERE, SO THERE YOU GO RIGHT THERE PROVES."

When asked if Collins gave insider trading information to his son, he did not answer the question and walked inside.

Again, that thermometer up top is so you can contribute to Nate McMurray's campaign. This is one we can help a good candidate replace a really bad one.

Crooked Republican Chris Collins Is Suddenly Retiring After All

Early this morning, pre-dawn, NBC News predicted that Chris Collins' political career is unlikely to survive his indictment. "In vowing to remain on the ballot for his re-election race this fall-- despite facing insider trading charges-- New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins joins a not-so-exclusive club of lawmakers who have refused to resign even after being indicted," they wrote. "Unfortunately for Collins, members of that club almost always meet an unhappy fate. Most lawmakers in a similar situation initially vowed to fight, but wound up quickly caving in to bad press and resigning. A handful managed to win re-election only to have to give up the seat later after being convicted."

It was only a matter of a couple of hours before Collins posted the tweet up top. He starts out with a typically deranged Collinsesque statement blaming everyone but himself for his troubles-- the Democrats, Pelosi, a desire to impeach Trump, even on Nate McMurray, his mild-mannered electoral opponent. "Democrats are laser focused on taking back the House, electing Nancy Pelosi Speaker and then launching impeachment proceedings against President Trump. They would like nothing more than to elect an 'Impeach Trump' Democrat in this District, which is something that neither our country or my party can afford."

But then... exactly what NBC had predicted: "After extensive discussions with my family and my friends over the last few days, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party and President Trump’s agenda for me to suspend my campaign for re-election to Congress.  I will fill out the remaining few months of my term to assure that our community maintains its vote in Congress to support President Trump’s agenda to create jobs, eliminate regulations, reduce the size of government, address immigration and lower taxes. I will also continue to fight the meritless charges brought against me and I look forward to having my good name cleared of any wrongdoing." Bye-bye, asshole. And, of course, Ryan should force him to step down now.

Technically, it's too late for Collins to withdraw from the race and the state laws to get his name off the ballot and replace him with some candidate party bosses will pick are very complex. Think back to what happened in Florida when Mark Foley was caught molesting young boys and tried-- and failed-- to get his name off the ballot. The Republican candidate had to run with Foley's name. He lost. According to The Hill there has been a great deal of pressure on Collins to step down.

While Ryan and his GOP leadership team did not publicly call for Collins to step down, GOP sources said there was a “behind-the-scenes” effort in both Washington and New York to convince the defiant congressman that resignation was the best thing for the party three months before the crucial midterm elections.

In the days since Collins’s indictment and arrest Wednesday, there were a flurry of text messages and phone calls between Republican lawmakers, Capitol Hill aides, strategists and lobbyists concerned that the Collins corruption case could put his ruby-red seat at risk and harm other vulnerable Republicans on the ballot, GOP sources said.

Some of these Republicans in Washington had been urging New York Republicans to personally appeal to Collins to resign, the sources said, making the case to him that he’s in an “untenable position.”

The pressure campaign took place mostly out of public view. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) have been silent on the matter.

“No one is above the law, but Chris deserves his day in court and we will wait to see what unfolds,” said New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox.

But one former Collins supporter, David Gunner, the highway superintendent of East Aurora in Collins’s district, circulated a public letter to his fellow New York Republicans on Friday calling on the former Erie County executive to quit Congress.

“I believe Collins has done good things for Erie County and our Congressional District. Many times, he’s made us proud. But this insider trading scandal has put our district in real peril,” Gunner wrote. “If he runs, I don’t think he can win. I don’t care how much money he has, he can’t buy this seat-- the good people of NY-27 won’t stand for it.”

In his open letter, Gunner argued that if Collins continued to remain on the Nov. 6 ballot, he would be a drag on GOP candidates down ballot, including state Assemblyman Ray Walter and local office holders. Nationally, the Collins controversy could cause Republicans to lose control of the House majority, Gunner said.

The charges against Collins’s son were considered important leverage to convincing the congressman to relinquish his seat, said one New York Republican source. Collins could strike a deal with prosecutors, offering to plead guilty in exchange for his son and Zarsky avoiding jail time.

“A natural conversation between the U.S. attorney and Collins’s attorneys is to go easy on the son and father in law if Collins resigns,” the New York source said. “I’m sure that’s a conversation that is going on right now.”

NY-27 wasn't a district the Democrats were counting on as a pick-up opportunity. The PVI is a daunting R+11 and Trump beat Hillary here, 59.7% to 35.2%. Because it wasn't on their radar, the DCCC didn't bother contesting Nate McMurray's campaign with a Republican-lite candidate as they did in other upstate New York primaries. McMurray, a town supervisor from Grand Island, is also the Working Families Party candidate and boasts a strong progressive issues page on his website that includes support for Medicare-for-All, marijuana legalization, bold action on Climate Change, women's Choice, DACA, "increased restrictions on assault weapons," etc.

The corrupt Democratic establishment has not been interested in a progressive reformer like McMurray. The DCCC has refused to take his calls and Governor Andrew Cuomo has urged him to step down and make way for his very right-of-center lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul. On Wednesday, McMurray said more contributions flowed into his campaign than in the entire cycle.


UPDATE:

Apparently, fringe lunatic racist and millionaire vanity candidate, Carl Paladino, is going to mount a write-in campaign and some other right-wing guy, Stefan Mychajliw, also wants to run. More Republicans are expected to jump into the fray.

It's On: Nate McMurray Is Challenging Indicted Trump Crony Chris Collins In Western New York

On Saturday, Nate McMurray wrote, "Today I am officially declaring my candidacy in New York’s 27th congressional district. In some ways it seems like I never stopped. I continue to travel across Western New York meeting with good people; listening and learning." Nate's 2018 race against the ineffective, criminally indicted incumbent-- Chris Collins-- was not supported by the DCCC and yet Collins wound up doing better than many of the candidates the DCCC wasted millions of dollars on. It was one of the closest finishes in the country-- and in a blood-red R+11 district where Trump had crushed Hillary 60-35%.

Collins outspent McMurray by over half a million dollars. Had the DCCC not spent the $3 million trying to elect Blue Dog Paul Davis in Kansas-- to just cite one of the races where McMurray out-paced the DCCC loser-- and spent just a portion of it in NY-27, McMurray would be in Congress today, voting for Medicare-for-All, the Green New Deal, impeachment, raising the minimum wage, banning the sale of military style assault weapons, lowering the cost of drugs... all things Davis would have opposed-- and all things the DCCC frowns of for candidates. That's why the DCCC spends millions on Blue Dog and New Dem conservatives and ignores progressives and real Dems.

This week marks the one year anniversary of  Chris Collins’ federal indictment chargers for insider trading. Mr. Collins and the political machine behind him remain strong despite his many ethical and legal failures. Many party loyalists continue to view him favorably, even more than his Republican challengers. He retains this support in part due to the tactics he employs; the depths he and his hateful political forces will stoop to.

Despite the perceived insurmountable challenges in 2018, our race against Collins was one of the closest in the country (decided by less than 1%), achieving the largest partisan swing of any first time state/ federal candidate in the country-- in a district designed for a Republican (any Republican) to win easily. This was despite our side being outspent, outnumbered, and attacked day after day by some of the most dishonest and detestable TV ads ever produced for a political race.

Why did we perform so well? Many are tired of being asked to vote blindly for their party. They are tired of nothing ever improving, nothing ever changing. And they are tired of the politics of hate and corruption. With your support, passion, and service to our community, we can finish what we started 2018 and finally reclaim this seat on behalf of the hardworking people of Western New York. People like you, who go to work on time everyday, who help their neighbors, who never cheat their business associates, and who spread kindness and goodness throughout their lives.

...In 2020, we will go to Washington to fight for healthcare for every American (now!), infrastructure (now!), for common sense gun control (and now!), for immigration reform to help our farmers (now!), and for technologies and policies that will confront the reality of climate change. I will also fight for a capitalist system that preserves the American Dream and provides opportunities to all, and not just hoards wealth for the most connected and elite.

“Given how close Nate came in 2018, we are thrilled to have him running for us this cycle. It’s been too long since the people of NY-27 have had a representative that cares about representing the voters rather than the party. It is the one-year anniversary of Chris Collins’ indictment and the Republicans are still stuck with him and don’t know what to do. We are delighted to have Nate running again” - Judith Hunter (Chair, Livingston County Democratic Committee)

"When Nate McMurray ran in NY-27 in 2018, he came within less than a percentage point of victory. But along with this, he did something else, something magical. He energized the rural counties. He created a movement on the ground that hasn't gone away.  Nate asked them all to ‘Fight Like Hell’, they did, and will again." - Cynthia Appleton (Chair, Wyoming County Democratic Committee)

“I am so pleased to hear that Nate will be running again.  He has visited Orleans County many times and is very aware of what our small county faces every day...few jobs, lack of affordable housing and high taxes.  We need Nate!!” - Jeanne Crane (Chair, Orleans County Democratic Committee)

“Chairwoman Brittaney Wells and the Monroe County Democratic Committee are proud to join Nate to finish the fight he began in 2018 for the 27th Congressional District. We are confident that he will be successful in his effort to unseat an absentee billionaire that has not represented the hard-working people of the 27th. Nate will restore integrity to the office and ensure his constituents are heard.” - Brittaney Wells (Chair, Monroe County Democratic Committee)

Thank you all for standing with me in the battles ahead. Together we will finish what we started; together we will bring real representation to the hard-working people of Western New York.

McMurray sat down for an interview with Jerry Zremski of the Buffalo News before announcing. Asked about the rumors that he would challenge moderate Democrat Brian Higgins instead of Collins, McMurray explained his thinking:

McMurray expressed some sympathy with the sentiment that Higgins not done enough to take on Trump.

"This is not a time to play it safe," McMurray said. "I've expressed that to Congressman Higgins, but also to others in safe seats in New York State when I've had the opportunity. I've said, 'You need to stand up and be stronger: a voice for impeachment, and and a voice against Mr. Collins.'"

McMurray made his anti-Trump, anti-Collins stance clear in a turbulent 2018 race that he lost to Collins by only 1,087 votes.

If anything, McMurray has made his progressive views even clearer since then, calling for Trump's impeachment and stronger gun-control measures even though he's running in a heavily rural district where a recent poll found Trump with an 81% approval rating among Republicans.

Asked how he planned to appeal to Trump voters, McMurray said he's counting on them turning on the president.

"In politics, things change quickly," McMurray said. "And if Trump's brinkmanship in economic matters or international matters continues, and we have a change in the economy, or when you see these terrible trade policies start to affect directly more local farmers, I think you can see a quick change."

McMurray raged against Collins on ethics issues both before and after the lawmaker's indictment last year, and he plans to do so again.

"I have many witnesses that are verifying my previous arguments-- and that's the Republican Party itself," he said.

For instance, State Sen. Chris Jacobs, a Republican who has already announced his bid for Collins' seat, has said the incumbent can't really do the job while under indictment. Local attorney Beth Parlato has also joined the race for the GOP nomination, and other possible candidates include State Sen. Rob Ortt of North Tonawanda and Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia.

Collins was stripped of his House committee assignments after his arrest, leaving him with little legislative clout. But Collins continues to tout his close relationship with the Trump White House while stepping up campaign-like activities in his district and awaiting his criminal trial, which is set to begin next Feb. 3.

Collins my also have to beat back other primary challengers before he can face McMurray. Jacobs and right-wing anti-AOC loon Beth Parlato are already running against him but other Republicans weighing their options include Erie County legislator Ed Rath, state Senator Rob Ortt, Erie County comptroller Stefan Mychajliw, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Assemblyman Ray Walter and potential vanity candidates Carl Paladino, Michael Caputo and David Bellavia.

The Names "Chris Collins," "Duncan Hunter" And "Mark Foley" And Wave Election Years

This is what the Republican Culture of Corruption Looks Like In 2018

With future Speaker Nancy Pelosi's connivance, Denny Hastert-- then Speaker, currently in prison for raping underage boys-- protected alcoholic Florida Congressman Mark Foley (a "nice guy") from ever having to face charges from dozens of young men-- congressional pages-- that he had sex or tried to have sex with them. Congress made sure that he was just chastised for sending naughty e-mails. He still tells people that's all he ever did. No one cared what the boys said. It was before #MeToo.

In fact, it was just before the 2006 election. Rahm Emanuel and Steny Hoyer, aware Foley was about to be outed and forced to resign from Congress in disgrace, chased the progressive candidate campaigning for the seat out of the race and inserted their own candidate, wealthy conservative Republican Tim Mahoney, who quickly re-registered as a Democrat. (Mahoney, a corrupt Blue Dog, was even worse than Folkey in many ways and had his own sex scandal and lost the seat, but that's another story.) How did a creep like Mahoney even win? Easy-- thanks to Rahm and Hoyer, no primary. Then... here's the timeline of what happened:

• Sept. 28- Rahm leaked the information that Foley was fiddling with the pages and ABC News ran the story-- BIG. It spread like wildfire.
• Sept. 29- Foley resigned from Congress to check into a program in Arizona to deal with his alcoholism.
• Oct. 2- The Florida GOP Executive Board selected state Rep Joe Negron as Foley's replacement. As Rahm knew, it was too late to take Foley's name off the ballot-- thus the timing of the leak.

The following month, on election day, Negron was awarded the votes cast for Foley but his name wasn't on the ballot and he lost-- albeit narrowly-- to Rahm's hand-picked corrupt conservative sex predator, Tim Mahoney. Mahoney lost in 2008 in the middle of a second Democratic wave election. (And, no, the DCCC did not learn anything from this episode; they never learn anything from any episodes.)

Ten years later and yesterday's Buffalo News reported that Congressman Chris Collins-- not a child molester (as far as I know), an indicted crook-- "will stay on the congressional ballot in November even though he remains under indictment on insider trading charges, according to four sources familiar with the situation. The sources, who asked not to be identified, say Collins has heeded the advice of his criminal attorneys who fear the potential complications of protracted election law challenges almost sure to be initiated by Democrats if he removed his name from the congressional ballot."

“It’s very fair to say there’s been a drastic shift,” said one of the sources, referring to the congressman’s earlier commitment to cooperate with local GOP officials and step aside for a substitute candidate. One GOP source noted the decision has always remained an option for Collins and that Republican strategists were prepared for his continuing presence on the ballot; but other sources remain unhappy that the move derails efforts to find a substitute candidate.

After the Buffalo News uncovered the story, a Collins lawyer confirmed the congressman's plans.

“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,” attorney Mark Braden said in a prepared statement.

Collins' decision brought cheers Monday when it was announced at a rally for his Democratic opponent, Grand Island Supervisor Nate McMurray.

In any event, the move signals an end to more than a month of legal wrangling as  top election lawyers retained by the GOP attempted to find some legal loophole to substitute Collins as a candidate for another office, thus removing him from the congressional ballot at this late date on the political calendar. But even some of the potential solutions, such as substituting Collins onto a Town Board slot in his home town of Clarence, were expected to be challenged in court.

Republican leaders appeared ready to have Collins substitute for another candidate in Clarence this week, according to the sources. Now the sources say the party officials were blindsided by the congressman's decision, though one source close to Collins indicated they have been aware all along that continuing the congressional campaign was an option. At this point however, it is clear that local party officials are surprised and unhappy over the move.

They point out that Collins had pledged his cooperation all along and that he would follow whatever path party leaders recommended. Now they say Collins has reneged on that agreement, after lawyers pointed out a host of complications. One source said revocation of his bail on federal charges could result.

Now Democratic challenger McMurray is expected to wage a campaign against an opponent under federal indictment. It opens an almost unprecedented campaign strategy, exactly what GOP officials had hoped to avoid.

Democrats wasted little time trying to capitalize.

"The choices couldn't be more stark. As much as anything, integrity is on the ballot," Tom Perez, Democratic National Committee chairman, said Monday as he helped open McMurray's Hamburg campaign office.

Still, Republican officials realized they would face a host of other legal complications had they found a way to substitute another candidate for Collins.

Collins' decision Monday also means that several Republicans vying to become the replacement candidate will sit on the sidelines-- at least for now. They include Erie County Comptroller Stefan I. Mychajliw Jr., 2010 gubernatorial candidate Carl P. Paladino, Assemblyman Raymond W. Walter, County Legislator Edward A. Rath III, State Sen. Robert G. Ortt and others.

Each could re-enter the political calculus, however, should Collins win the November election and leave office either through resignation or conviction on the criminal charges he faces and subsequent expulsion from the House. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo would then have the option of calling a special election.

Collins faces charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and lying to a federal agent in connection with his involvement with Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech firm where he served as a director and the largest investor. His son, Cameron, faces similar charges, as does Stephen Zarsky of New Jersey, the father of Cameron Collins' fiancee.

Prosecutors accused the congressman of hatching an insider stock trading scheme from his cellphone while attending a White House picnic in late June 2017. They say he received an email that night from Innate's chief executive officer, telling him the firm's experimental multiple sclerosis drug had failed in clinical trials. He's accused of then relaying that information to his son, who then told others, allowing them to sell their stock before the news became public and thereby avoid huge losses.

Good news: because the case against Collins was in the hands of the FBI and not something someone like Rahm Emanuel could manipulate, the DCCC didn't pick one of their own god-awful candidates-- they made a half-assed attempt to get a wretched Blue Dog, Kathy Hochul but failed-- to run. Everything I hear about Nate McMurray is good and his campaign's issues page is excellent and far from what the DCCC wants in their candidates. Example:

Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Everyone should be able to access needed health care regardless of income, and the only affordable long-term solution to America’s healthcare crisis is a “Medicare for All” national health care program.

Every other major industrialized nation has this type of system. The U.S. spends more on healthcare per person than these countries, but we are no more healthy, in fact, we spend more and end up with less. I support the Medicare-for-All bills that have been introduced in the House and Senate (H.R. 676/ S.1804 as well as the New York State Healthcare Bill.

It’s time politicians stop putting Social Security and Medicare at risk.

In a statement yesterday, Nate, after the GOP's anncoument that they would be keeping Collins on the ballot, said that "it’s nice to finally know who I’m running against. But, in truth, we always knew we were running against Chris Collins. There are laws for a reason. 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. I credit the people of Western New York for standing up in town after town saying 'don’t force him on the ballot in my town.' They saw through this fraud. They weren’t going to fall for the bait and switch strategy by the same team that endorsed, celebrated, took pictures with and defended Chris Collins. There is an incredible grassroots movement in NY-27. Like me, the voters want to Fight Like Hell against the political machine that has let them down for so long. They like that I’m an underdog. Every day when I’m out meeting voters, we talk about affordable, accessible healthcare for all, defending social security, investing in our infrastructure, protecting our farms. But in this region, we’re still always talking about corruption. Voters have a chance to end that once and for all in NY-27 and I’m excited for the next 50 days."

Nate's progressive positions and political independence may explain why the DCCC still hasn't added him to their Red-to-Blue page. So that means the GOP is stuck with 2 indicted criminals on the ballot in November-- Collins and Duncan Hunter in California. Both districts have a PVI of R+11 and both candidates, McMurray in NY and Ammar Campa-Najjar in CA, are progressives, not GOP-lite DCCC types. (In Ammar's case, he's been endorsed by Elizabeth Warren, President Obama, DCCC vice chairs Ted Lieu and Joe Kennedy and the DCCC still refuses to back him and, in fact, goes out of it's way to undermine his campaign. They suck so bad.)

Trump Continues To Roil Congressional Republicans-- One Gets Ready For Prison, While Another Announces Retirement

Trump with his favorite House Republican, Chris Collins

It was always just a matter of time. Chris Collins really had no viable defense. He was caught in multiple violations of insider trading statutes. The only reason it took so long (around 14 months since he was arrested) for him to resign is that he was using his seat as a bargaining chip with federal prosectors for lighter charges and a lighter sentence. Yesterday it all came together, beginning with a resignation from Congress, triggering a special election.

As the progressive Democrat who nearly beat him last cycle, Nate McMurray, said this morning, "The real victims of Collins' crimes are the people of his district that he repeatedly lied to about his guilt. Collins and Republican party insiders robbed his constituents of the representation they need on important issues like the rising cost of healthcare, the opioid epidemic, and the fight for good paying jobs. They all failed us, so I’m going to keep talking about the critical issues Western New Yorkers face every day, because that’s what public service should be about, working to make other people’s lives just a little bit better."

Jerry Zremski, the Buffalo News Collins beat reporter, wrote about the choreography early yesterday. Collins resigned yesterday and will plead guilty at 3pm today. "A new court filing in the case," wrote Zremski, "filed in federal court in Manhattan, shows that U.S. District Court Judge Vernon S. Broderick scheduled a court hearing where Collins-- who had pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him-- will change his plea. Moments after that docket entry was filed, a second appeared, indicating that Collins' co-defendants-- his son Cameron Collins and Cameron Collins' prospective father-in-law, Stephen Zarsky-- plan to change their not-guilty pleas as well. A hearing in their case is set for Thursday."

Normally the way crooked congressmen are handled is that the prosecutor makes a deal to let the relatives off easy in return for a resignation from Congress, which, if the judges agree-- which they almost always do-- also results in a much lighter sentence, particularly for white crooked members of Congress.

Collins, his son and Zarsky are charged with securities and wire fraud, conspiracy and lying to the FBI. They were arrested in August 2018 in connection with an alleged insider trading scheme involving Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech.

Collins, a Clarence Republican, served on Innate's board for years. Prosecutors said that while at a White House picnic in June 2017, he got inside information that the company's only product, an experimental drug for multiple sclerosis, had failed in clinical trials.

Prosecutors say Collins then called his son, who started dumping his shares of Innate stock the next day. The indictment charges Cameron Collins with then sharing that inside information with Zarsky.

Collins also told several other Republican members of Congress the news and the insider trading was part of why former Georgia Congressman Tom Price, Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary, resigned in return for not being prosecuted for that and several other instances of criminal behavior. Never charged for insider trading with 4 other crooked Republicans in the House-- Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Billy Long (R-MO), Mike Conaway (R-TX) and John Culberson (R-TX)-- defeated for reelection soon after-- all of whom bought shares in Innate Immuno at Collins' suggestion.

Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Ban Conflicted Trading Act in response to the Collins scandal but it was unpopular among crooks on both sides of the aisle and never went anywhere. Imagine prohibiting members of Congress from abusing their public positions for personal financial gain! No, no, no... certainly not with Moscow Mitch running the Senate. The Ban Conflicted Trading Act would prohibit members of Congress and senior congressional staff from buying or selling individual stocks and other investments while in office and force new members to sell individual holdings within six months of being elected. Alternatively, members of Congress would be allowed to choose to hold existing investments while in office-- with no option for trading until they leave office--  or transfer them to a blind trust. Members of Congress would still be allowed to hold widely-held investments, such as diversified mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. In addition, the legislation would prohibit members of Congress from serving on any corporate boards while in office.

AOC & Nate McMurray both want to clean up corruption in DC-- for real

I'd like to recommend helping Nate McMurray take on whomever the GOP throws up against him. So far all the likely candidates appear as bad as Collins. Just click this 2020 congressional thermometer on the right and then hit the link on the right that says: "Click here to allocate amounts differently or view all recipients." Remember, Collins was the first member of Congress to endorse Trump. Makes sense, right? Criminal thugs are attracted to each other. The third member of that three-some is Duncan Hunter (R-CA), who was nabbed around the same time as Collins was and is also trying to get a good deal for a plea and refuses to give up his House seat until he gets good terms. He sometimes argues that it was he, not Collins, who actually endorsed Trump first!

In more congressional news, the Texodus continues.Yesterday Mac Thornberry, ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, announced that he won't be running for reelection. TX-13 though is one of the reddest districts in the country. Hillary couldn't even squeeze 20% of the votes out this place, which includes all or part of 40 counties, each which Thornberry won. Not even one county was close. Last cycle he won with 81.5% The PVI is R+33, but one of the counties, King performed as an R+94! The district is very rural and the two locations that pass for cities are Amarillo and Wichita Falls. If an anti-red tidal wave were to sweep over Texas in 2020, TX-13 would still remain in Republican hands. The local Democratic Party needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Trump's Favorite Congresscritter Exposed Back Home In His New York District

Presumably, Chris Collins (R-NY), infamous as the first congressman to have backed Trump, got back to Clarence this morning. I suspect what was waiting for him in the Buffalo News, his district's biggest newspaper, was worse than what most Republicans who voted for TrumpCare Thursday had to face. Keep in mind, though, that NY-27, has a PVI of R+8 where Obama lost badly both times and where Trump trounced Clinton 59.7-35.2%, his best performance in the state-- and considerably better than Romney had done when he won the district with 55.3%. Collins himself beat Diana Kastenbaum, who was unable to even raise the $5,000 that would have triggered an FEC report, by an even greater margin, 67.7-32.3%.

That said, Collins couldn't have been too happy with either his CNN appearance or the report about it in the News this morning. First 2 lines: "Rep. Chris Collins told CNN that he didn't read the entire Republican health care bill that the House passed Thursday. And then he told the Buffalo News that he was unaware of a key provision in the bill that decimates a health plan that serves 635,000 New Yorkers."

Told by a Buffalo News reporter that the state's largest loss of federal funds under the bill would be $3 billion annually that goes to the state's Essential Health Plan, Collins said: "Explain that to me."

The Essential Plan is an optional program under Obamacare, offered only by New York and Minnesota, that provides low-cost health insurance to low- and middle-income people who don't qualify for Medicaid. State Health Department figures show that more than 19,000 people in Erie and Niagara counties were on the Essential Plan in January.

Asked by the Buffalo News if he was aware of the bill's cut in funding to the Essential Plan, Collins said: "No. But it doesn't surprise me for you to tell me that there were two states in the nation that were taking advantage of some other waiver program and New York was one of the two states."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which says it is targeting Collins when he runs for re-election next year, was quick to attack Collins for his comments.

“This disturbing admission makes it clear that Collins doesn’t respect or care about the people who sent him to Washington," said Evan Lukaske, a DCCC spokesman. "Instead of reading pharmaceutical stock financial statements, Collins should actually read the legislation that would take away health care from thousands of his constituents.”

Asked about Collins' comments on CNN and to the Buffalo News, his spokesman, Michael McAdams, noted that Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., also told Blitzer he had not read the entire health bill.

“Once again the Buffalo News is twisting a Republican’s words to fit its out-of-touch, liberal narrative," McAdams said. "Congressman Collins has been intimately involved in the creation of this legislation from its inception ... He understands the impact it would have on Western New Yorkers. To infer Congressman Collins doesn’t understand the disastrous impact Obamacare has had on our region and our nation is absolutely shameful."

One unfortunate caveat-- the DCCC isn't really targeting Collins and, at least so far, there isn't even a Democratic candidate running for the seat. The DCCC may stick it's tongue out at Collins and make mean faces, but there's no reason to think they will invest serious money in unseating him. That's not what they do-- unless his stock scandal actually blows up into a judicial matter.

Draining The Trumpist Swamp-- Chris Collins

Chris Collins (R-NY) making headlines

Early this morning, western New York Congressman Chris Collins, who represents the Buffalo and Rochester suburbs in a safe (R+11) seat that Trump won 59.7-35.2%, was arrested by the FBI, along with his son Cameron and Cameron's father-in-law, Stephen Zarsky. This is the indictment.

Collins is a backbencher who doesn't make many waves... just does whatever leadership tells him to do-- except for two things:

1- he was the first member of Congress to endorse Trump
2- he's an insider trading crook who used his office to enrich himself and several of his cronies

The co-chair of the Battery Storage Caucus, he has one of the highest Trump affinity scores in Congress-- 98.9%. He made news after the 2016 election when Chris Cuomo asked him about Trump considering Mitt Romney to head the State Department, telling CNN viewers that "What do I know about Mitt Romney? I know that he's a self-serving egomaniac who puts himself first, who has a chip on his shoulder, and thinks that he should be president of the United States."

Other than that, his only real brush with fame was when he bought 4 million shares of an Australian company, Innate Immunotherapeutics, which made him the single largest shareholder. He also told Tom Price (R-GA) and others to buy shares (Price bought 400,000 shares, valued at around a quarter million dollars, and was eventually fired as Secretary if Health and Human Services for his role in the insider trading scam). Collins had used his office-- and non-public information about drug trials-- to benefit the company and drive up the stock price. In the end, Collins' insider info allowed him and his family to avoid $768,000 in stock losses, based on what he knew about how a new multiple sclerosis drug had failed a medical trial, which quickly caused the Innate stock price to drop 92% when they announced that publicly.

Even if Collins winds up on trial before November, this is unlikely to have much impact on his race against progressive Democrat Nate McMurray, a Grand Island town supervisor who has raised only $133,624 against Collins' $1,274,249. The district is just too red... or is it? Wasserman at the Cook Report, who's usually very slow and tepid about changing race ratings, immediately changed NY-27 from "solid Republican" to "likely Republican." And Paul Ryan, while not calling on him to resign, did kick him off the House Energy Committee. "While his guilt or innocence is a question for the courts to settle," said Ryan, "the allegations against Rep. Collins demand a prompt and thorough investigation by the House Ethics Committee." Let's see if McMurray can make this enough of an issue to win with.

Flipping Another New York State Congressional State Blue?

Want to see a right-wing nut's head explode?

Big states often have big chunks of territory left over after the congressional districts are drawn, diverse counties and parts of counties that have nothing necessarily in common with each other but don'tfitinto the other districts. In California, the massive 8th district is like that. It goes from the San Bernardino and Redlands suburbs and Yucca Valley and Lake Havasu in the south through Death Valley and Mammoth Lakes all the way north as far as-- though east of-- Sacramento. In New York, the district is the last one, NY-27 in the western part of the state. It includes the left over rural areas between Buffalo and the suburbs west and south of Rochester. 65% of the popuation-- about 92% white-- live in suburbs and 22% live in rural areas. It includes all or part of 8 counties, listed in order 2018 voters and including political performance in the congressional race that year:

• Erie- 124,657 (D+5)
• Niagara- 49,265 (R+1)
• Ontario- 28,373 (D+9)
• Livingston- 24,083 (R+2)
• Genesee- 20,808 (R+13)
• Wyoming- 13,237 (R+28)
• Orleans- 12,640 (R+22)
• Monroe- 12,115 (D+2)

Although, it isn't remotely related to the congressional results, Cook's PVI is a heavily red R+11. Obama lost the district both times by double digits and Trump beat Hillary 59.7% to 35.2%, his best and her worst performance in the state.

The congressional race between Trumpets incumbent Chris Collins and progressive Democrat Nate McMurray was essentially a dead heat, the closest race in the country-- and one neither the DCCC nor the NRCC was involved with:

The two candidates raised around the same amount of money but Collins used banked money to spend $1,811,514 compared to McMurray's $1,252,822.

This cycle is shaping up very differently. First of all, McMurray is no long a basically unknown candidate from one corner of the district (having served as a Grand Island (Erie County) Supervisor. With Collins about to go on trial or, more likely, cop a plea that will include resigning from Congress, for a range of corruption charges, federal, state and local Republicans are frightened that McMurray will flip the seat next year.

There are already 3 Republicans primarying Collins, state Senator Rob Ortt, far right activist Beth Parlato and state Senator and former Secretary of State Chris Jacobs whose family is the wealthiest in western New York. (His family owns the Boston Bruins and his uncle is worth over $4 billion). As of the July FEC report Jacobs had raised $$771,273 to Collins' $516,380, all of it self-funded. (42% of Jacobs money comes from an unidentified source-- like his family-- $323,000 and the rest of it comes from large contributions.

According to Politico state GOP chair Nick Langworthy doesn't think Collins will run in 2020. One of the other candidates, Rob Ortt from North Tonawanda who is unknown outside of his own small district, said "It’s a district where there are a lot more gun clubs than country clubs. I know those voters, and I know the issues that they’re concerned about. They want someone who’s going to go in there, defend the president’s agenda and not be afraid to take on a fight.

Another local GOP official said he spoke to two other interested candidates just this month. Additional names high on the possible succession list include Republican Erie County comptroller Stefan Mychajliw Jr., state Assemblyman Stephen Hawley (R-Batavia) and Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia, an Iraq War veteran who ran against Collins in 2012, when the incumbent won his first term.

“Obviously you don’t want to wait too long if you are interested and something happens,” said Niagara County Republican Committee Chairman Richard Andres. “It was a very, very strange situation last year, and this will be just as interesting one to watch.”

While there’s no shortage of candidates eager to fill Collins’ seat, it’s not a given that he is too weak to survive. After all, he did manage to win last year even though his indictment was announced just three months before Election Day. Independent polling in the district from earlier this month showed 60 percent of Republican primary voters still view Collins favorably. Next year Trump’s name will be at the top of the ballot-- a boon for the party in a district where 81 percent of Republicans who have recently voted in a primary or presidential election said they viewed Trump favorably, according to the poll from Tel Opinion Research.

“This will be a year where polarization of country will probably hold most Republicans in line,” said James Campbell, a University at Buffalo professor who specializes in political campaigns. “I think it would take an unusually strong Democrat and an unusually divisive nomination battle to put us in the toss-up category.”

Republicans didn’t have much time to triage the news of Collins' indictment in 2018, Campbell said, so it makes sense that primary candidates are coming out strong and local party leaders are receptive to Collins’ challengers.

But if the race widens too much, it could play against those seeking his replacement. And that’s exactly what McMurray, the Democrat who nearly took Collins in 2018, is hoping for in round two, he said.

McMurray, a town supervisor who announced in August that he’ll run again, doesn’t buy the concept that the close margin in 2018 was an outlier due to the year’s Democratic wave election and the fresh nature of Collins’ charges.

He said he believes there are moderate Republicans in the district who have grown weary of both Trump and Collins, but that the current challengers look “fake” and “opportunistic” because they’re taking advantage of Collins’ precarious position.

“Every single person in this district knows who I am now,” McMurray said. “They know I’m the guy who stood up to Chris Collins first.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee isn't getting involved in the primary, but is not concerned about a repeat performance from McMurray, NRCC spokesperson Michael McAdams said.

“There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that Nate McMurray can win with President Trump at the top of the ticket in a district he won by more than 24 points," McAdams said by email.

McMurray, whose $24,021 in reported cash is dwarfed by Republican candidates' funds, said he’s not running his campaign out of the back of his car this time-- “We’re better than we were a year ago”-- and believes he will have a stronger foundation of support from local and national Democrats who took note of his underdog near-victory in 2018.

The way he sees it, a crowded Republican field can only help. “The primary’s not ‘til June next year and they’re going to rip each other apart before then,” McMurray said.

Blue America has endorsed McMurray again and you can contribute to his campaign by clicking on the thermometer above. He's campaigning on the Green New Deal, on Medicare-for-All, on raising the minimum wage to a livable age and on a general reform platform that targets corruption. He's not a big fan of the Trump trade wars that are harming farmers and small towns in western New York.