New York NY-27 House2020
RACE AT A GLANCE
RACE TYPE
VACANT
Chris Collins (R)
Collins resigned 9/30/19, special election TBD
COOK PARTISAN VOTING INDEX
Last updated : Oct 2, 2020Key Dates
Filing Deadline: Apr 9, 2020
Primary Election: Jun 23, 2020
INCUMBENT
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INCUMBENT
Full Bio:
COLLINS, Chris, a Representative from New York; born in Schenectady, Schenectady
County, N.Y., May 20, 1950; B.S., North Carolina State University, Raleigh,
N.C., 1972; M.B.A., University of Alabama, Birmingham, Ala., 1975; businessman;
Erie County, N.Y. executive, 2007-2011; unsuccessful candidate for election to
the One Hundred Sixth Congress in 1998; elected as a Republican to the One
Hundred Thirteenth Congress and to the two succeeding Congresses (January 3,
2013-present).
Source: Bioguide
CANDIDATES
Democrats
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Republicans
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DISTRICT DATA
New York - 27
West: suburbs of Buffalo, Rochester
Population Breakdown
Source: American Community Survey 2015
Past Presidential Results from this District
2016 Election Results
Source: Dave's Redistricting/VEST
2012 Election Results
Source:
RACE ANALYSIS
The Bottom Line
Updated: Jun 9, 2020
On June 23, voters will head to the polls for both a special election and a GOP primary to succeed former Rep. Chris Collins, who resigned last September as part of a plea deal on federal charges of insider trading. GOP state Sen. Chris Jacobs, whose family has owned the Delaware North hospitality group for over a century, has self-funded $446,000 and is the heavy favorite in both contests.
Before COVID-19 struck, the special election to fill the vacancy had been scheduled for April 28. Then state officials ordered it consolidated with the June 23 state primary, denying Jacobs the advantage of incumbency in the primary. Jacobs's most serious primary opponent is GOP attorney and Fox News commentator Beth Parlato, who raised $451,000 by March and is spending heavily on Buffalo broadcast.
Parlato calls Jacobs a Trump skeptic and friend of Planned Parenthood. The Club for Growth also ran ads in early May with footage from a late 2016 interview in which Jacobs refused to say whether he backed Trump. But Jacobs has spent heavily to point out Parlato didn't vote in the 2016 primary, and the president may have effectively ended the race when he tweeted a Jacobs endorsement last week.
On the Democratic side, Grand Island Town Supervisor Nate McMurray is running again after coming within 1,087 votes of defeating Collins in 2018. McMurray had raised $505,000 by the end of March. But this time, McMurray isn't running against an indicted incumbent. It would take a miracle for him to defeat Jacobs considering the district voted for Trump by 24 points in 2016 and all voters are being mailed absentee ballot applications.
Race Analysis
Updated: Jul 28, 2026
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