Republican Rep. Chris Collins was expected to win re-election to a fourth term before he was indicted last month on insider trading charges, which led him to suspend his campaign. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images Elections Collins challenger fights to break through in New York The congressman’s indictment put seat in play, but neither party is spending big.

NEW YORK — A Trump-allied congressman indicted for insider trading who refuses to pull out of his upstate New York re-election race: It’s enough to make Democrats giddy this fall.

But while New York Democrats say they feel energized about their chances of capturing Rep. Chris Collins’ seat in November — and some Republicans are annoyed to be stuck with the third-term Republican — underfunded and little-known challenger Nate McMurray still faces a serious challenge in prevailing in one of the reddest districts in the state.


The Democrat, whose support for gun rights plays well in this conservative upstate area, raised nearly $150,000 online in three weeks after Collins was indicted in August, according to a Federal Election Commission filing from ActBlue, the Democratic online fundraising platform. But his online fundraising pace had slowed dramatically by the end of September, raising questions about whether McMurray will have the resources to fight a campaign against Collins despite his legal woes. The national party hasn’t spent much yet on the race, and McMurray hasn’t drawn many high-profile endorsements; he’s not on the list of Democratic candidates backed last week by former President Barack Obama, for instance.

Judith Hunter, chairwoman of the Livingston County Democratic Party, predicted that will change, stressing that Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez was in the district less than two weeks ago stumping for McMurray. “As the [DCCC] gets ready for their final push, I'm sure they will decide to do even more for Nate's campaign, since this is a seat that is now really in play,” she said.

Collins was expected to win re-election to a fourth term before he was indicted last month on insider trading charges, which led him to suspend his campaign and suddenly elevated McMurray, a Grand Island town supervisor. And even as Republican county leaders were strategizing about how to replace Collins on the ballot, the congressman reversed himself and said he’d stay in the race.

New York Playbook newsletter Our must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Collins’ camp argued that if he didn’t stay on the November ballot, legal wrangling would prevent any Republican from taking his place on the ballot. But some local Republicans were less than enthused.

“We went through a very lengthy, time consuming effort to get all our ducks in a row and then he changed his course,” Niagara County Republican Committee Chairman Richard Andres told POLITICO. “We’re kind of left with what remains. So obviously, [we’re] disappointed in that we worked very hard to give the process a fair shake.”

“I can tell you based on what I’m hearing there’s a lot of concern about it. Insider trading is not something that’s sort of a common, way-of-life type issue here as much as it would be in New York City,” Andres said, adding that the situation has benefited McMurray.

“I don’t feel like there’s a lot of excitement on the ground for the other guy, but he’s in a better position than he was a few weeks ago, I’ll tell you that much,” Andres added, noting that McMurray is “trying to sound like a Republican” by touting his support for the Second Amendment and avoiding talk of impeaching President Donald Trump. “He probably ran as a sacrificial lamb in a way to mess with a congressman who’s been pretty vocal for Trump and he now finds himself in an actual race.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee is saying it won’t spend money for Collins. "I don't plan to spend a thing in that race," NRCC Chairman Rep. Steve Stivers told The Buffalo News. "I think Chris will win."

Still, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sidestepped the question when asked whether it would spend money on McMurray.

“In an attempt to end a devastating news cycle following Congressman Chris Collins’ indictment, Republicans immediately vowed that they would get their scandalized congressman off the federal ballot, but we now know that this wasn’t true,” said DCCC communications director Meredith Kelly. “The voters of New York 27th Congressional District now have the clearest of choices between scandal-plagued Chris Collins and Nate McMurray, who will be a real fighter for the families of Western New York, and the stakes just got a whole lot higher on November.”

While an influx of money or other support would reassure progressives in the area that party leaders are not ignoring a once-in-a-generation pickup opportunity, it's possible that spending outside money or endorsements from people like Obama — who’s made a point of endorsing Democrats in GOP-held seats this cycle — would backfire in such a ruby-red district where McMurray has worked to differentiate himself.

McMurray campaign manager Victoria Dillon told POLITICO that “there’s real anger here” in the district about Collins, noting that the number of campaign volunteers tripled after Collins’ indictment. “We were busting at the seams.”

The Erie County Democratic Committee’s chairman, Jeremy Zellner, said he’s excited, and unconcerned by the lack of outside spending. “We think we’re in a strong position here and momentum is shifting every day,” he said. “There’s virtually been no money spent on TV until Chris Collins went on with that really nasty ad last week."

Zellner was referring to misleading ads recently aired by Collins featuring McMurray speaking Korean. McMurray did consulting work during negotiations for the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement and his wife is a naturalized citizen from South Korea. The ad's subtitles imply McMurray “worked to send jobs to China & Korea” and “helped American companies hire foreign workers.” McMurray and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) were among those to condemn the ad as a racist smear, but Collins’ campaign has stood by its characterization.

Some Republican county leaders were forgiving of Collins' decision to stay in the race.

“It’s hard to predict because with so many races this year, the NRCC is going to put their resources where they’re most needed. Quite honestly if they don’t put ’em in this race, it’s not that they don’t support him. It’s because they feel he doesn’t need that level of assistance,” Monroe County Republican Committee Chair Bill Reilich said, adding that New York’s 27th District is “one of the most Republican in the state and possibly the Northeast.

“The way I view it is, in our system of justice every person is presumed innocent until found guilty,” he said, adding that he’s confident in Collins’ continued popularity and noting that Collins was cheered at an Ontario Country GOP banquet last week. “He has been thus far a very popular member of Congress. In his district Trump has a high approval rating. So I think that will help him.”

But, Reilich said, “whether the president will come out and campaign for him is another story.”

Scott Bland contributed to this report.