Former New York Rep. Chris Collins, pardoned by Trump, seeks comeback in Florida

Niels Lesniewski, CQ-Roll Call on Jan 23, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Republican former Rep. Chris Collins, who represented a Western New York district until he resigned in 2019 and pleaded guilty in a corruption scandal, on Friday announced his comeback bid in Florida.

Collins, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2020, is joining a crowded primary field for the deep-red seat that Republican Rep. Byron Donalds is vacating to run for governor of Florida.

Collins’ announcement highlighted his early support for Trump during the 2016 presidential primary.

“I helped President Trump start the fight in 2016. I’m running for Congress to help him finish it,” he said in a statement. As part of his launch, the Collins campaign announced what it described as a six-figure television and streaming ad buy that will debut during the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl.

Collins is one of several former members from both parties seeking comeback bids this year, ranging from those whose terms ended just last year to several who’ve been out of the political spotlight for more than a decade.

The race for Florida’s 19th District, which includes Fort Myers and Naples, has attracted an eclectic mix of Republican candidates who’ve run for office in other states. Among them are former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who lost a 2022 primary after a scandal-plagued single term; former Illinois state Sen. Jim Oberweis, who’s made multiple unsuccessful bids for Congress; conservative activist Catalina Lauf, who ran for a suburban Chicago House seat in 2022; and businesswoman Ola Hawatmeh, a 2020 House candidate in New York. Other GOP hopefuls include businessman Jim Schwartzel and Marine veteran Mike Pedersen.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno is reportedly considering a run for the open seat. Republicans will be heavily favored to hold the Southwest Florida district, which Trump carried by 29 points in 2024, according to calculations by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.

Collins, who shared his interest in returning to Congress months ago, was a businessman in New York who later won a term as the executive of Democratic-leaning Erie County. He was first elected to the House in 2012, unseating Democrat Kathy Hochul, who is now the governor of New York. Collins made national headlines in February 2016 when he became the first sitting member of Congress to endorse Trump’s first presidential campaign.

But an insider trading scheme involving an Australian biotech company brought an end to his congressional career in 2019, just before he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and making false statements to federal investigators. The following year, he began serving a 26-month term in federal prison but received a pardon from Trump about two months into his sentence.

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—Mary Ellen McIntire contributed to this report.