Arizona Republican congressional candidate and combat veteran suspends his campaign after overdosing on heroin
- Safford City Councilman Chris Taylor, a married father-of-two, was found unresponsive at home last week and had to be revived with Narcan
- Taylor, 33, said in a statement he has relapsed from his opioid addiction after ‘so many solid years in sobriety’
- Taylor had been seeking GOP nomination to run against two-term Rep. Tom O’Halleran, a Democrat representing 1st Congressional District
An Arizona Republican politician and US Army veteran has suspended his campaign to unseat a Democratic congressman after overdosing on heroin at his home last week.
Safford City Councilman Chris Taylor, a married father-of-two, made the announcement on Monday, saying in a statement that he has relapsed from his opioid addiction and suffered an overdose.
Taylor, 33, who served two combat tours in Afghanistan as a team leader at US Army Special Operations Command, was found unresponsive at his family’s home on Wednesday.
Safford City Councilman Chris Taylor, a US Army veteran, announced on Monday he has suspended his congressional campaign in Arizona after a recent heroin overdose
Taylor, 33, pictured above with his wife, said in a statement he has relapsed from his opioid addiction after ‘so many solid years in sobriety’
Paramedics who were called to the scene had to use the drug Narcan to reverse the effects of heroin on Taylor, reported Gila Herald.
Officials also reportedly found items ‘related to intravenous drug use’ at the Safford Fire Department, where Taylor has been a volunteer firefighter for many years.
Before pulling the plug on his campaign, Taylor had been seeking his party’s nomination to run in the general election against two-term incumbent Rep. Tom O’Halleran, a Democrat representing the 1st Congressional District, according to the Arizona Republic.
Taylor, who has a young son and daughter, has been open about his past battles with opioid addiction.
He also has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of his military service overseas a decade ago.
In his statement Monday, the aspiring congressman said he had had ‘so many solid years in sobriety’ prior to last week’s relapse.
‘I don’t know what went wrong,’ he wrote, adding that he will be relying on the Veterans Affairs Administration, the support of his family and his Christian faith ‘to get the help needed to be the father and husband that my family deserves.’
According to his campaign website, Taylor’s battle with opioid addiction inspired him in 2014 to launch a non-profit organization called Desert Eagle Addiction Recovery ‘dedicated to helping individuals, especially fellow combat veterans, suffering from drug addiction.’
Two years later, he successfully ran for the Safford City Council.
In May 2019, Taylor announced that he was running for the US Congress.
At the time, he spoke poignantly about drug and opioid addiction, arguing that a generation of people from all walks of life is being wiped out because they are ashamed to reach out and ask for help due to the stigma associated with addiction.
Taylor had been seeking a GOP nomination to run against incumbent two-term Rep. Tom O’Halleran (pictured), a Democrat representing 1st Congressional District
‘This is a problem that knows no demographic,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t discriminate. Addiction hits every single race, every gender, every political class, and every economic class. Everybody knows somebody who is suffering from addiction and it cripples our families.’
At least two other Republicans, including a cotton farmer boasting a growing war chest and the support of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, are running to unseat O’Halleran, who is facing his own primary challenge.