Grand Junction City Councilor Chris Kennedy essentially quit his campaign against U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton almost as soon as it began, but didn’t announced it until this week.
The Denver Post says Kennedy cited undisclosed health reasons. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports he is taking care of his elderly mother who had a stroke following heart surgery.
Here’s what Kennedy told the Sentinel:
“As the whole thing was going on, I made the conscious decision to stop active fundraising because I had a sense we weren’t headed to a good place,” he said in an interview. “I know that I’m not going to be able to devote the time while this is going on, and I don’t know if it’s two months or two years or something in between. I’m not able to devote all the time necessary.”
Kennedy only raised $1,500. He says that’s because he suspended fundraising weeks after he announced in September.
The Sentinel reports that Kennedy’s chief Democratic opponent in the primary, former state Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush of Steamboat Springs, has raised $142,000.
Glenwood Springs lawyer Karl Hanlon announced last week he would also run in the Democratic primary.