And then there were seven.
Five Democrats and two Republicans remain in the hunt for a congressional seat in the state’s 21st District after four candidates were forced to drop out of the race because of either their inability to collect the state-mandated number of petition signatures or raise sufficient funds to continue.
Candidates were required to submit 1,250 signatures to the state Board of Elections by Thursday, July 10, in order to remain in the race.
Democrats Arthur Welser, Craig Burridge, John Aretakis and Lester Freeman all dropped out of the race earlier this month.
Welser and Burridge cited their inability to collect enough signatures as their reason for exiting the race. Welser, a real estate agent, said he thought his campaign came to a halt when he failed to gain an endorsement from local Realtors.
I had trouble getting people to get out and petition for me, said Welser.
Burridge echoed Welser’s sentiments.
`People made promises that they didn’t keep to carry my petitions,` said Burridge.
Aretakis, an attorney, said he withdrew from the political showdown to concentrate on clergy sexual abuse litigation and activism.
`I’m balancing a lot of things,` said Aretakis. `My real message has been changing the laws regarding sexual abuse of children.`
Freeman cited financial difficulties as his reason for bowing out, despite collecting 3,000 petition signatures.
`It was simply financing the campaign. We had the support, we had the voters, we had more than enough signatures to run, we had all of that,` Freeman said. `We made it to the ballot, but then we asked if we had the money to bring this puppy home.`
Much like this year’s presidential race, the race to fill the seat of outgoing Congressman Michael McNulty, D-Green Island, began earlier than anticipated.
The race began in December when Phil Steck announced his intentions to run for office.
As many as 11 candidates competed in the race at one time.
Paul Tonko, Tracy Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Steck and Joseph Sullivan continue to seek the Democratic nomination. Tonko led all Democrats, obtaining more than 7,000 signatures with the aid of more than 300 volunteers.
Jim Buhrmaster and Steven Vasquez will continue their quest for the Republican nomination.
Buhrmaster collected more than 8,000 signatures, the most of any Republican.
Because there is a period reserved to file objections, according to the state’s board of elections, no one is officially on the ballot as of yet. However, the board of elections did confirm with Spotlight Newspapers that Republicans Buhrmaster and Vasquez are officially filed with the state, and that Democrats Brooks, Shahinfar, Steck, Sullivan and Tonko have all met the petition requirement to run in the 21st.
On the third-party lines, Tonko has filed for the Working Families Party, Steck filed for the Independence Party line, and Buhrmaster filed for the Conservative line, according to the state board of elections.
Two former candidates threw their endorsements behind current candidates after they dropped out of the race. Freeman endorsed Tonko, and Burridge has not only endorsed Brooks, but has now joined her campaign.
The seven remaining candidates will seek a spot on the ballot for their respective party primaries in September.
Ross Marvin contributed to this story,“