Monday, August 07, 2006
Ney, good sir, he is no more
At least no as a candidate for Congress. One of Jack Abramoffs favorite bedfellows has dropped out of the running, claiming the stress of being under suspicion is too much for him.
Representative Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican entangled in a corruption scandal involving the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, announced today that he is abandoning his bid to win re-election.So with more than 80 days to the election, his hand picked successor will face a primary and a general election. If he had waited, she could have been selected by the party. But I think the ever excellent Toledo Blade has the answer, as always.
“After much consideration and thought I have decided today to no longer seek re-election in Ohio’s 18th Congressional District,” Mr. Ney said in a statement on his campaign Web site. “Ultimately this decision came down to my family. I must think of them first, and I can no longer put them through this ordeal.”
Mr. Ney, 52, who was first elected in the Republican landside of 1994, said he would serve out the rest of his term. State Senator Joy Padgett was asked by Mr. Ney and by Representative John Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican majority leader, to run in Mr. Ney’s place and has accepted, although it was not clear today whether other Republican candidates may emerge.
By accident or design, he timed his announcement to his own financial benefit. Under federal law, Ney is allowed to use any leftover campaign funds to pay his rising legal bills. As of June 30, he had roughly $417,000 in the bank. Because the fall campaign has not yet begun in earnest, he has not had to purchase television advertising time or make other significant campaign expenses.Smells like a Republican to me.
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