A top Democratic recruit for the swing 26th Congressional District shocked supporters Saturday by dropping out of the race, one day after party leaders touted his race as a top pick-up opportunity.
Ventury County Supervisor Steve Bennett, who was the top candidate for a pre-primary endorsement recommendation, announced during the state Democratic Party Convention in San Diego that he will drop his congressional candidacy to run for re-election to the Board of Supervisors.
The Ventury County Star's Timm Herdt reports:
The decision leaves Democrats in disarray one month before the filing deadline.
"I'm very disappointed in what Steve has done," said Brian Leshon, secretary of the county party's central committee. "This district was ours to take. We've got to see what happens now."
Republican Central Committee Chairman Mike Osborn said he believes the GOP chances of winning the 26th District -- rated as a political tossup that on paper slightly favors Democrats -- "were always great, and I think this proves that. I've never seen a politician quit a race he thought he could win."
Bennett said he decided to run for Congress last fall even though his heart was never completely in it, and that it had never been a personal ambition.
"There was a constant drumbeat from others who felt that I was the most electable Democrat in Ventura County and that I should do this," he said. "I was doing something because I thought I should do it."
Asked if it was a mistake, he responded: "I'm not embarrassed to say it. I really tried to make it work."
Three other Democrats are running for the seat, but none were able to win enough votes at a Saturday delegate meeting to secure the party's endorsement. Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, and Linda Parks, a GOP supervisor who Herdt reports might run as no party preference this June, are also considered strong candidates for the seat.
Click here to read the full Ventury County Star piece.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.