At last a Democrat has manned up.
Via KRTV
U.S. Senator John Walsh (D-MT) told his staff in Billings on Thursday afternoon that he is ending his campaign against Republican challenger U.S. Representative Steve Daines (R-MT).
Walsh was appointed to the position by Montana governor Steve Bullock in February 2014 after Max Baucus retired from the U.S. Senate to become the U.S. ambassador to China.
Walsh said that dropping out of the race will allow him to focus on his responsibilities as a U. S. Senator until his term ends in January 2015. He said, “You deserve someone who will always fight for Montana, and I will.”
“I am proud of your support, we held our opponent accountable for his hurtful record to privatize Medicare, to deny women the freedom to make their own health decisions and to sell off our public lands,” said Walsh in a release to the media.
Several Montana newspapers in recent days have called on Walsh to drop out of the race because of plagiarism accusations first reported by the New York Times.
Walsh cancelled campaign and fundraising appearances in Gallatin County that had been set for Wednesday and Friday.
“It was going to be difficult for the Walsh campaign to recover from these allegations about plagiarism. Most importantly, it made it difficult to raise national money, so the decision is not unexpected,” said MTN News political analyst David Parker.