Former Congressman Chris Collins is due to start his more than two year prison sentence in mid-March.

Yet, some are still skeptical the Republican will serve time due to his close alliance with President Donald Trump. The fact is Trump does have the power to pardon Collins but he has shown no indication over the year and a half since the former lawmaker’s indictment that he’s inclined to do so.

Regardless, Collins’s former congressional challenger is preemptively condemning a potential pardon.

“President Trump should not further the injustice inflicted on Western New York. His own Justice Department pursued this case and won a sentence that includes prison time for Mr. Collins, a convicted felon,” Democrat Nate McMurray said in a statement.

Most observers don’t believe it would be politically expedient for Trump to wipe the slate clean for a white collar criminal with a fractured base during his own election year. McMurray, on the other hand, could have motivation to proactively come out against a pardon.

He is running again for the 27th Congressional District vacated by Collins and his pushing his potential Republican opponents to take a stance.

“This should not be a Democratic or Republican issue; I urge all Republican candidates in this race, elected officials, and party leaders to stand unified in defense of the rule of law in America,” McMurray said. “Collins was a wealthy politician who acted as if laws don’t apply to him.

“We all need to tell him that America's laws apply to everyone. He must pay his debt to society and not have it wiped away because of his political support for the president,” McMurray said.

Four Republicans have declared interest in the party’s designation for the likely soon-to-be-called special election.