WASHINGTON--U.S. Representative Chris Collins, an ally of President Donald Trump charged with taking part in an insider trading scheme, halted his campaign for re-election on Saturday, as Republicans sought to minimize the damage from his case ahead of November's midterm elections.
Collins said in a statement his decision was in the best interest of his constituents in New York, as well as the Republican Party and "President Trump's agenda."
Collins was charged earlier this week with taking part in an insider trading scheme involving an Australian biotechnology company, Innate Immunotherapeutics LTD, on whose board he served. He has denied the charges.
Collins, 68, said he would fill out the remaining few months of his term in office. "I will also continue to fight the meritless charges brought against me and I look forward to having my good name cleared of any wrongdoing," he said in the statement posted on Twitter.
Republican leaders backed Collins' move. "I respect Chris Collins' decision to step down while he faces these serious allegations. As I've said before, Congress must hold ourselves to the highest possible standards," said Representative Steve Stivers, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the House of Representatives.
Republicans are nervous about their prospects for retaining their majorities in Congress in the Nov. 6 election, in which all 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats will be up for grabs. Democrats need to pick up 23 seats to take control of the House.
Collins, who was one of Trump's earliest supporters in Congress, had been seeking a fourth two-year term in the solidly Republican 27th congressional district in the western part of New York. Non-partisan analysts had predicted Collins would win re-election, but his indictment put Republicans on the defensive.
