Does your state lean blue or lean red? Check out our new report, highlighting partisan control of state government from 1992-2013.
Chris Collins
| Chris Collins | ||
 | ||
| U.S. House, New York, District 27 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| January 3, 2013-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 3, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 0 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Predecessor | Brian Higgins (D) | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $174,000/year | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| First elected | November 6, 2012 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Campaign $ | $1,327,521 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| Erie County executive | ||
| 2007-2011 | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | North Carolina State University | |
| Master's | University of Alabama (Birmingham) | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | May 20, 1950 | |
| Profession | Small Business Owner | |
| Net worth | $60,351,517 | |
| Religion | Catholic | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Collins is a former county legislator.[1]
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2013-2014
Collins serves on the following committees:[2]
- Committee on Agriculture
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
- Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture
- United States House Committee on Small Business
- Subcommittee on Healthcare and Technology - Chair
- Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Investigations
Elections
2012
Collins won election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing New York's 27th District.[3] He defeated David Bellavia in the June 26, 2012, Republican primary and then defeated incumbent Kathy Hochul (D) and Megan Lavin (I) in the November 6, 2012, general election.[4][5]
| U.S. House, New York, District 27 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Chris Collins |
48.9% | 161,220 | |
| Democratic | Kathy Hochul Incumbent | 47.4% | 156,219 | |
| N/A | Blank/Void/Scattering | 3.7% | 12,329 | |
| Total Votes | 329,768 | |||
| Source: New York State Board of Elections "U.S. House of Representatives Results" | ||||
Bellavia is an Iraq War veteran and Tea Party activist, and Collins is a former county legislator.[1] Bellavia sought to win as a more conservative candidate than Collins. He pointed out that the former Erie County Executive praised incoming federal stimulus funding when he was in office.[6] Collins, however, did receive the Conservative Party endorsement. State Party Chairman Michael Long commented: "He had a proven record.... Collins would be more competitive against the congresswoman."[7]
According to the Buffalo News, Bellavia was the underdog and rarely recognized by Collins.[8] Bellavia, who wrote a book and subsequently sold the movie rights about his experiences in Iraq, said in taking on Collins he took on the "Erie County (political) machine."[8]
Both candidates were largely self-funded, with Collins self-funding $250,000 and Bellavia $45,000. Reports also show that Collins raised another $5,750, and Bellavia raised $50,000 in addition to his own contribution.[9]
Campaign donors
Comprehensive donor information for Collins is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Collins raised a total of $1,327,521 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 23, 2013.[10]
| Chris Collins's Campaign Contribution History | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2012 | U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 27) |  |
$1,327,521 | |
| Grand Total Raised | $1,327,521 | |||
Individual breakdown
2012
Collins won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Collins' campaign committee raised a total of $1,327,521 and spent $1,312,830.[11]
| U.S. House of Representatives, New York's 27th Congressional District, 2012 - Chris Collins Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $1,327,521 |
| Total Spent | $1,312,830 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | $4,602,796 |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | $4,602,796 |
| Top contributors to Chris Collins's campaign committee | |
| National Auto Dealers Assn | $10,000 |
| Prosperity PAC | $10,000 |
| Wny Urology | $10,000 |
| American Bankers Assn | $7,500 |
| Noco Energy | $7,500 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Leadership PACs | $96,720 |
| Candidate Committees | $38,000 |
| Real Estate | $31,700 |
| Oil & Gas | $31,000 |
| Health Professionals | $26,600 |
Analysis
Lifetime voting record
According to the website GovTrack, Collins missed 6 of 102 roll call votes from Jan 2013 to Apr 2013, which is 5.9% of votes during that period. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.[12]
Net worth
2011
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Collins' net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $13,308,039 to $107,394,996. That averages to $60,351,517, which is higher than the average net worth of Republican House members in 2011 of $7,859,232.[13]
Recent news
 |
Know more information about this profile? Submit a bio |
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term "Chris + Collins + New York + House"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
Chris Collins News Feed
- Congressman Chris Collins votes to move 2013 farm bill out of committee - Niagara Frontier Publications
- Rep. Dan Maffei: Entire New York congressional delegation supports Harriet ... - Auburn Citizen (blog)
- Weekend: Your guide to entertainment in Northeast Pennsylvania - Scranton Times-Tribune
- What We're Reading - New York Times (blog)
- 2016 Campaign Has Begun For Republicans Like Rand Paul, Scott Walker - Huffington Post
- Homefront IPA, Created By Nine Craft Breweries, To Benefit Military Families - Huffington Post
- 'Swimming With Monsters': Team Gets Charged By Angry Hippopotamus (VIDEO) - Huffington Post
- Subcommittee chaired by Collins examines health insurance tax - The Batavian
- Emily's List Endorses Allyson Schwartz For Pennsylvania Governor - Huffington Post
- 'Dazed and Confused' Sequel: Richard Linklater Says It May Shoot This Fall - Moviefone
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
External links
- Summary, biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at CongressMerge.com
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Profile at Wikipedia
References
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedred - ↑ CQ.com, "House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress"
- ↑ New York Board of Elections "Filings for June 26, 2012 Federal Primary," Accessed June 11, 2012
- ↑ AP/CSPAN "New York-Summary Vote Report," June 26, 2012
- ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, New York"
- ↑ The Batavian "Bellavia knocks Collins for seeking funds from Obama's stimulus package," June 20, 2012
- ↑ US News "In New York 27th, a Fierce GOP Congressional Primary Rages," May 30, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Buffalo News "Battle-tested underdog David Bellavia is on a mission," June 19, 2012
- ↑ Buffalo News "Bellavia, Collins, largely self-financed," June 16, 2012
- ↑ Open Secrets "Fundraising for Chris Collins" March 2013
- ↑ Open Secrets "Chris Collins 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed February 26, 2013
- ↑ GovTrack, "Chris Collins" Accessed April 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org "Chris Collins (R-NY), 2011," accessed February 19, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brian Higgins |
U.S. House of Representatives - New York District 27 2013-Present |
Succeeded by ' |
 |
State of New York Albany (capital) |
|---|---|
| Ballot Measures |
List of New York ballot measures | Local measures | School bond issues | Ballot measure laws | History of I&R | History of direct democracy | Campaign Finance Requirements | Recall process | |
| Government | |
| State executive officers |
Governor | Lieutenant Governor | Attorney General | Secretary of State | Comptroller | Commissioner of Education | Superintendent of Insurance | Commissioner of Agriculture | Commissioner of Environmental Conservation | Commissioner of Labor | Chairman of Public Service Commission | |
| Judiciary |
New York Supreme Court | Trial Court | Supreme Court, Appellate Division | Civil Courts | County Courts | Surrogate Courts | Family Courts | Civil Courts | Court of Statewide Claims | Town Courts | Village Courts | City Civil Court | City Criminal Court | District Court Nassau & Suffolk | City Courts (Outside New York City) | Judicial Nominating Commission | Judicial news | Judicial activist organizations | |
| Transparency Topics |
Freedom of Information Law | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | Transparency blogs | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations | |
| Divisions |
State |
List of Counties |
List of Cities |
List of Towns |
List of School Districts | |
