Convicted ex-Rep pardoned by Trump mounts political resurrection in red state

A former New York congressman who served prison time for insider trading before receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump in 2020 is mounting a political comeback in a red state.

Former Rep. Chris Collins plans to officially launch a Florida congressional campaign Friday in the state's 19th District, Notus reported Thursday.

Collins, who endorsed Trump in 2016, is jumping into a crowded Republican primary to replace Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for governor. His campaign entrance comes with serious firepower: a six-figure ad buy timed to run during the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl.

The ads feature Collins declaring, "We need to take our country back. We need to Make America Great Again. We need to be a country where our children and grandchildren can live the American dream like many of us did. I'm Chris Collins, the original Trump conservative."

Trump himself appears in the spots, saying, "Chris Collins, right from the beginning, he said, 'Trump is going to win.' Now, I love him."

Collins resigned from Congress in 2019 following his guilty plea to insider trading charges and was sentenced to 26 months in prison. Trump pardoned him that December.

Fellow candidate Madison Cawthorn, the scandal-plagued former North Carolina representative, is also running in the district. Republicans have flocked to Florida after previously running for Congress from other states, annoying some GOP strategists enough to complain the Sunshine State isn't a vehicle for them to "rehab" their images.