Could GOP hold onto indicted Rep. Collins seat?

Published September 11, 2018 This content is archived.

An article in The New York Times about questions over who will replace Rep. Chris Collins on the ballot in November for the 27th Congressional District interviews Jacob Neiheisel, associate professor of political science, who said that if Collins remains on the ballot, Republican turnout on Election Day could fall off, but voters might elect him anyway. “It is such a heavily Republican district, and I think that some voters will rationalize that a Republican, at least in policy terms, is better than a Democrat,” he said. “They might ask themselves, ‘Why should I be punished for his mess-ups?’”