GOP congressman drops out of NY race just days after endorsing assault weapons ban

On Friday, according to WKBW's Natalie Fahmy, Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-NY) announced that he is suspending his campaign for New York's 23rd Congressional District.

This comes after Jacobs was one of the only sitting Republicans to publicly say last week that he would support a federal ban on assault weapons in the wake of the white supremacist mass shooting in Buffalo, which is near to the district. He acknowledged that that position has made it impossible for him to win nomination for the district, saying, "Since making those comments, every Republican who supported me withdrew their endorsement."

Jacobs currently represents New York's 27th Congressional District, which is being eliminated as a result of the Census reapportioning New York to have only 26 seats. He had hoped to take over the 23rd District, which shares some territory with his old seat, after the incumbent Republican there, Rep. Tom Reed, resigned over a sexual misconduct allegation.

In his place, House GOP Caucus chair Elise Stefanik, also an upstate New Yorker, has announced she is endorsing Carl Paladino, a far-right former member of the Buffalo Board of Education and one-time ally of former President Donald Trump.

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Paladino famously caused outrage in 2016 when he said of former First Lady Michelle Obama, “I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.” Even the Trump campaign itself condemned him as racist following the incident.

Political observers widely believe Republicans will once again block any consideration of an assault weapon ban in the Senate, although President Joe Biden has also called for more modest measures including a 21 year age limit to purchase such weapons.