GOP councilman in Arizona suspends congressional bid after heroin overdose

A Republican councilman in Arizona suspended his congressional campaign Monday, saying he is seeking treatment for substance abuse disorder after overdosing on heroin last week.

Chris Taylor, a city councilman in Safford who is running for a House seat, said in a statement to The Arizona Republic that he plans to fully cooperate with local authorities on matters regarding his recent relapse and overdose.

“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 said in a statement to the newspaper.

Taylor, a combat veteran who has battled opioid addiction since high school, added that he is thankful for the resources available to him through the Veterans Affairs Administration and “the strongest support system one could dream of,” according to The Arizona Republic.

Taylor was one of several Republicans running in the GOP primary to challenge Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran, who won the seat in 2016, in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District.

Democrats have held the seat since it was created before the 2012 election, but President Trump won the district by 1 percentage point in 2016, according to The Arizona Republic.