Another Dem drops out of 5th District Congress race
And then there were 11. Four days after two other candidates removed their name from the race for the Democratic nomination in the 5th District Congressional race, attorney Dan Muroff announced the end to his campaign Thursday.
Remaining in the race are teacher and environmental advocate Lawrence Arata of Haverford; Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland; former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor for Labor Rich Lazer; American Association for Cancer Research trustee Lindy Li of Philadelphia; former U.S. Assistant Attorney Ashley Lunkenheimer of Upper Providence; attorney and former Wallingford Swarthmore School Board member Mary Gay Scanlon; scientist Dr. Molly Sheehan; state Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166 of Haverford; state Rep. Margo Davidson, R-164 of Upper Darby; journalist/entrepreneur David Wertime of Lower Merion; and entrepreneur Theresa Wright of Norristown
Earlier this week, George Badey, chairman of Radnor Township’s Democratic Committee and former CIA intelligence officer Shelly Chauncey of Glen Mills withdrew.
On the Republican side, only Pearl Kim, state Senior Deputy General and Radnor resident, remains standing. She will be the only name on the GOP ballot after Paul Addis was booted because of problems with signatures on his nominating petitions.
Muroff was one of the first candidates to emerge on the Democratic side.
An attorney and advocate, Muroff was president of the board of CeaseFirePA and president of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania. He also was a legislative aide and chief of staff in Washington.
In his statement noting he was getting out, Muroff spoke about his entry to the race.
“I made the decision to run for Congress,” he said. “I did so after talking with many fellow Democrats who encouraged my candidacy and who believed I would be a formidable challenger to the Republican incumbent.”
The dynamics changed considerably over time. The 7th U.S. Congressional District became the 5th Congressional District and the Democratic field swelled with candidates.
On Sunday, two candidates – Lunkenheimer and Scanlon – emerged as frontrunners at the county Democratic Party Nominating Convention while Sheehan’s supporters remained committed to her.
The candidates are now obtaining endorsements from municipal Democratic committees, some of whom are significant due to their size.
In the meantime, Muroff said he talked with his wife, Melissa, before deciding to end his campaign.
“I owed it to my supporters and friends to make a clear-eyed assessment of my chances of winning the Democratic nomination,” he said. “I concluded that in seeing no clear path to win the nomination, it would be irresponsible and unfair to ask all those who have supported me to continue to do so.”
He said he was honored to have received the endorsement of the Plumbers Union Local 690, the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters, committee people and others.
“I have deep gratitude and great appreciation to my friends and supporters,” Muroff said. “While this effort did not end the way I would have hoped, I plan to remain active in supporting progressive candidates and causes and fighting for our shared values.”