DEPEW, N.Y. — Chris Collins easily defeated David Bellavia to win the Republican primary for the 27th Congressional District. The former Erie County Executive got strong support in Erie and Niagara counties to secure the win.

Calling it the first step in restoring the American Dream, Collins declared victory in this GOP primary. He thanked David Bellavia for a hard-fought campaign, then immediately started his general election campaign against Rep. Kathy Hochul.

Collins called Hochul an Obama Democrat who believes in big government programs like the President's health care reform bill.

In an effort to appeal to his base, Collins even quoted Ronald Reagan, saying "government isn't the solution to our problem. Government is the problem."

Collins said he's not afraid to have a converstaion about Medicare and says he never supported the Ryan budget.

Activity has certainly picked up at Collins headquarters, with many arriving shortly before the polls closed. Collins supporters are hoping they'll have something to celebrate and right now, they're confident they will.

Collins himself arrived here a little before 9 p.m. Tuesday. He spent some time mingling with the crowd and thanking his supporters.

Collins was criticised by his opponent in this primary for keeping a low profile and being unwilling to debate. Erie County GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy says Collins has been busy on the campaign trail, hitting the counties outside of Erie, and introducing himself to voters who may not know him as well.

Make no mistake, Collins is banking on support in Erie County and the suburbs that he carried even as he lost the race for County Executive.

Voter turnout here hasn't been great. It's hovered in the six to seven percent range in Erie County for most of the day. Now that the polls are closed, one Collins staffer said he's just worried about getting more votes than David Bellavia.

Chris Collins is looking for a political rebound after coming up short in the Erie County Executive race this past November.

The podium and campaign signs are in place at Collins HQ in Depew. Chris Collins' supporters are still setting up, hoping for a big party here Tuesday night; what could the beginning of a political comeback.

YNN was there when Collins cast his ballot in Clarence on Tuesday morning. He's counting on suburban areas like Clarence to come out for him. Collins carried those areas outside of the City of Buffalo during his failed re-election campaign for Erie County Executive last fall.

Voter turnout in this primary is expected to be lower than general election, but Collins believes his base will there.

"It will be low voter turnout, but I think the coverage that we've had over the past few days from the newspapers and the electronic media, I think we're going to hit that 20 percent or more, but we understand it's a summer day and June primaries are unusual," Collins said.

So far, the Collins camp believes the numbers are good. They're reporting a seven percent voter turnout in Erie County. They think that number could rise to as high as 10 percent.
They believe if those numbers hold, Collins will win.