Congress candidate suspends his campaign after overdose
Chris Taylor, a Safford city councilman who is running for Congress, overdosed on heroin last week and since has suspended his campaign.
The Wednesday incident was a relapse for Taylor, a combat veteran who has battled opioid addiction since high school.
In a written statement, Taylor said he was seeking treatment and not backing away from what happened.
“Today, I have suspended my campaign for the US House of Representatives and am seeking treatment for substance abuse disorder. I will fully cooperate with local authorities on any matters arising from my recent relapse and overdose,” Taylor said in a statement to The Arizona Republic on Monday.
“I’m not going to hide from this. I’m not ashamed of what happened. I wish to sincerely apologize to the amazing people who have supported me. I don’t know what went wrong. I recently relapsed after having so many solid years in sobriety. I have to figure out where I went wrong.”
Taylor has been seeking the Republican nomination in the 1st Congressional District, which is currently represented by incumbent Rep. Tom O’Halleran, an Arizona Democrat in his second term.
A family member found Taylor unresponsive in his home on Wednesday night, and paramedics revived him there with a drug that reverses the effects of opioids, according to the Gila Herald.
Authorities also found “items related to intravenous drug use” at the Safford Fire Department, where Taylor has been a longtime volunteer.
Taylor is one of at least three Republicans seeking their party’s nomination this year.
Tiffany Shedd, an Eloy lawyer and cotton farmer, easily has the most cash in that race and the backing of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. At the end of December, Shedd had $112,000 in cash compared with Taylor’s $6,200.
The 1st District spans northeastern Arizona, including Flagstaff, and runs to the outskirts of Tucson.
Democrats have held the seat since its creation ahead of the 2012 elections, though President Donald Trump won there by 1 percentage point.
Here is Taylor’s complete statement:
“Today, I have suspended my campaign for the US House of Representatives and am seeking treatment for substance abuse disorder. I will fully cooperate with local authorities on any matters arising from my recent relapse and overdose. Please respect the privacy of my wife and children as we deal with this situation.
“I’m not going to hide from this. I’m not ashamed of what happened. I wish to sincerely apologize to the amazing people who have supported me. I don’t know what went wrong. I recently relapsed after having so many solid years in sobriety. I have to figure out where I went wrong. Thankfully I have every resource available to me through the Veterans Affairs Administration and I have the strongest support system one could dream of. My family stands behind me 100% and I feel the love and prayers of our amazing Gila Valley Community. I haven’t been able to respond to each of you yet but I have been overwhelmed by the amount of people who have reached out to me in love and understanding.
“The only thing I can do is face this head on in complete humility and put one foot in front of the other so that I can get the help needed to be the father and husband that my family deserves. I’m human and I have never pretended to be anything but. I know that through the Grace of my loving savior Jesus Christ I will be restored to full health and bounce back from this and be stronger than ever.”