WASHINGTON, D.C. — After the mass shooting at a high school Parkland, Florida, Rep. Chris Collins, R-NY-27, criticized Democrats for politicizing the tragedy rather than having a sitdown and conversation.

"Naturally, as a logical Democrat, we reached out to his office and to our surprise, they called back in a few days and they said they would like to meet," NY-27 candidate Nick Stankevich said.

The Monroe County Democrat said he wanted a public meeting in the district but agreed to fly to Washington, D.C. instead.

"If he's not comfortable talking in public about these issues, then I'm going to come to him," Stankevich said.

He said they found some common ground, particularly when it comes to the need for background checks. Collins’ office said when a "constituent" requests a meeting, they do their best to accommodate.

"While Congressman Collins disagrees with Mr. Stankevich’s liberal policies, the congressman appreciated the opportunity to share thoughts and exchange ideas on a wide range of issues. Though they agreed to disagree on many issues, this was a very professional dialogue,” spokesperson Sarah Minkel said.

Stankevich said it's all about finding solutions, but his Democratic primary opponent disagreed. 

"It's obviously a stunt, a political stunt by Mr. Collins, and I'm sad that he's using this opportunity to create noise and division in our party but I think the people of Western New York are smart enough not to be fooled by this," said Nate McMurray, the endorsed Democrat in the 27^th.

McMurray said he was troubled Stankevich accepted the meeting. He said while he and others have been calling for a public debate with Collins, it didn't make sense for his primary opponent to go behind closed doors.

"I don't want to meet him in a private situation where he can control the environment and craft the message. It's good to have open debate and public debate but that's not what Mr. Collins wants," McMurray said.

But Stankevich said he won't apologize for being the Democrat that Collins chose to speak with.

"Getting a sense of how he views issues will definitely give me a leg up in how to debate him and win over the constituents of Western New York," he said.