Former Rep. Chris Collins is attempting a political comeback — this time in Florida — but not everyone in the Sunshine State is buying the rebrand.
Collins, who resigned from his New York congressional seat in 2019 after being convicted in an insider trading scandal, has now set his sights on Florida’s deep-red 19th Congressional District. The seat is opening up as Rep. Byron Donalds launches a gubernatorial bid.
On paper, FL-19 is solidly conservative territory — the kind of district where an America First candidate should thrive. But critics argue Collins is anything but that.
Despite touting himself as the “original Trump conservative” who backed President Donald Trump from day one in 2016, Collins’ voting record tells a different story. According to his 2019 Heritage Action scorecard, Collins earned a dismal 35% conservative rating.
To put that in perspective, Rep. Ilhan Omar scored 38%, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez scored 33%.
Yes — Collins’ conservative score was lower than Omar’s and barely above AOC’s.
That statistic alone has fueled accusations that Collins is a “RINO” — Republican In Name Only — attempting to reinvent himself in a reliably red district after flaming out in New York.
A viral social media post summed up the frustration: “RINO carpetbagger Chris Collins, with a conservative score LOWER than Ilhan Omar, is spending millions of dollars in Byron Donalds’ Florida Congressional District 19 to paint himself as ‘conservative MAGA.’”
Collins’ legal troubles remain a sticking point. In 2018, he was arrested and later convicted for insider trading after tipping off his son about a failed drug trial connected to an Australian biotech firm. The scandal led to his resignation from Congress — a dramatic fall for a man once considered a close Trump ally.
Now, critics say he’s pouring millions into campaign ads to scrub that history and recast himself as a champion of the America First movement.
“From DAY ONE, I had Trump’s back,” Collins recently posted on X. “Successful businessman. The original Trump conservative.”
But former constituents from his old New York district aren’t impressed.
“I live in Collins’ old district. You don’t want this clown,” one voter wrote online. “He will sell all of you out for a dollar.”
Grassroots conservatives in Florida have echoed that sentiment, arguing that FL-19 deserves a representative who has consistently stood for conservative principles — not someone who discovered MAGA branding after a felony conviction.
For many voters, the question isn’t whether Collins once supported Trump. It’s whether he can credibly claim to represent the values of a district that overwhelmingly supports border security, fiscal restraint, and ethical leadership.
Florida Republicans face a choice: elevate a fresh America First fighter to succeed Byron Donalds — or roll the dice on a politician whose past record raises serious red flags.
In a district as conservative as FL-19, voters may decide that authenticity matters more than slick rebranding.
