Congressional Candidate of Arizona Suspends his Campaign after Drug Overdose
February 25, 2020 10:38(Image source from: allusanewshub.com)
The campaign of an Army veteran who was running for Congress in Arizona has been suspended which was scheduled to be on Monday, after he suffered with a drug overdose.
Chris Taylor who is a member of the City Council in Safford has told to the NBC News where in he has stated that the campaign for the US House of Representatives has been suspended and that he had been seeking treatment for substance abuse disorder.
Taylor has been a combat veteran who is said to have battled opioid addiction since his high school.
The member of the City Council in Safford has also said that he would be cooperating to the fullest with the local authorities regarding any matters that would arise from his recent relapse and overdose.
The Arizona Republic and the Gila Herald were the first to report the decision that has been taken by Chris Taylor which was to drop out of the Republican primary in the 1st Congressional District of Arizona.
According to the Gila Herald, a family member had found Chris Taylor at his home in an unresponsive state on Wednesday during the night and he was revived with the usage of paramedics where a drug which reverses the effects caused by opioid has been used.
Chris Taylor is married and is a father of two had served two combat tours in Afghanistan and had also struggled with the addiction of opioid in the past.
According to the website of his campaign, it has been mentioned that he had founded a non- profit in the year 2014 and had called it as Desert Eagle Addiction Recovery which was dedicated in helping the individuals, especially the ones who are fellow combat veterans and who are suffering from drug addiction.
The National Bureau of Economic Research has made a report during the last year where in it has been found that the exposure to the combat would put the troops at substantial risk of abusing opioids and heroin.
Chris Taylor has made a statement on Monday where in he had stated that he had “recently relapsed after having so many solid years in sobriety.”
He also said that he had to figure out where he had gone wrong and that he feels thankful as he has the availability of every resource through the Veterans Affairs Administration and also that he is accompanied with the strongest support system.
He added saying that, “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."
He had further mentioned that he was not ashamed of what has happened and therefore he would hide it but he wished to apologize to the people who have supported him and that he had to figure out what went wrong as he had no idea what has mislead him to the drug overdose.
Chris Taylor had been seeking the Republican nomination in the 1st Congressional District which is currently being represented by the incumbent Rep. Tom O’Halleran who is an Arizona Democrat in his second term.
By Shrithika Kushangi