Rep. Chris Jacobs dropped his bid for reelection to his Western New York district after facing fierce blowback from Republican leaders over his recently-announced support for an assault weapons ban in the wake of the Buffalo supermarket mass shooting last month.
“Last Friday, I made remarks before the press regarding my support of some gun control measures. Since that time, every Republican elected official that endorsed me, withdrew their endorsement, as did many Republican committees,” Jacobs said at a Buffalo press conference on June 3.
“Despite this backlash, I truly believe I could have won this election, but it would be incredibly divisive.”
His changing political fortunes, which included GOP leaders’ efforts to recruit a primary challenge against him if he did not drop out, comes amid fierce Republican opposition to any additional gun control measures following multiple mass shootings in recent weeks.
“[We] have a problem in our country, in terms of both our major parties. If you stray from a party position, you are annihilated. For the Republicans, it has become pretty apparent to me over the last week that that issue is gun control – any gun control,” Jacobs said at the press conference.
He plans to serve the remainder of his term through the end of the year.
A litany of Republican hopefuls are jockeying to be his replacement – including former GOP gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino, who has already received the endorsement of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-North Country), the No. 3 House Republican.
“I am proud to announce my endorsement of my friend Carl Paladino. Carl is a job creator and conservative outsider who will provide Western New York and the Southern Tier with strong representation and leadership. Carl will be a tireless fighter for the people of New York in our fight to put America First to save the country,” she said.
“I think I can be effective given my history and background. This area deserves a conservative representative.” Paladino, now 75, said. He joked that he likely won’t campaign with a baseball bat as he did when he ran for governor in 2010 and earned the nickname “Crazy Carl.”
Paladino has a track record of attracting controversy, including once likening former First Lady Michelle Obama to a “gorilla.”
Some Republicans, meanwhile, had already begun collecting signatures, before Jacobs announced his plans to drop out, to get GOP state Party Chair Nick Langworthy on the ballot.
Langworthy did not respond to a request for comment Friday on whether he might still pursue a congressional run. Other potential candidates include state Sen. George Borello, who confirmed his interest in the seat earlier this week, as well as businessman Marc Cenedella and Tompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler to represent a newly-drawn district based in the Southern Tier.
Jacobs won a 2020 special election for a district covering Western New York tucked in between the outskirts of Buffalo and Rochester. He replaced former Republican Rep. Chris Collins, who resigned following a conviction in relation to insider trading charges before receiving a pardon from former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Jacobs as his replacement.
His decision to not seek reelection after winning a full term later that year reflects an ironic twist for Jacobs – a former state senator and Erie County clerk – whose predecessor in the Legislature lost his seat after voting in favor of the controversial 2013 SAFE ACT that banned assault weapons statewide.
Jacobs added Friday that in a perfect world, he, too, would have been spared the wrath of the political right, but the recent racist massacre in Buffalo demonstrated a harsh reality about the Second Amendment.
“If all gun owners respected gun safety as the constituents in my district, I would not be talking about new gun laws. But unfortunately, that is not the case,” he said. “A very small percentage of people [who] are extremely irresponsible, emotionally unstable, or fully insane.”
