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CINCINNATI (AP) — The Democratic nominee in former House Speaker John Boehner's district has withdrawn from the November election, leaving a clear field for now for recently elected Republican U.S. Rep Warren Davidson to win a full term.
Corey Foister, 26, said in social media posts this week that the June 7 special election results showed it's "simply not my time." A Butler County elections official confirmed Tuesday that he has withdrawn his name from the ballot.
"This is the wrong election cycle, the wrong place and the wrong race," wrote Foister, who said he plans to stay in politics elsewhere and hinted it will be in New York. His voice mailbox was full Tuesday, and he didn't respond immediately to an email message.
Davidson romped to victory with 77 percent of the vote and took office later in the week after the special election to complete Boehner's term in the 8th Congressional District. Boehner left Congress last year after holding the seat nearly 25 years.
"I wish him well," Davidson said Tuesday of Foister. "We're looking to see what the Democrats will do."
Jocelyn Bucaro, chairwoman of the Butler County Democratic Party, said Democrats are exploring options, but there's little time to put together a special primary to replace Foister.
"We would love to have a candidate," Bucaro said from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. "We'd like to give the voters a real choice, but we don't know if we can get a candidate on the ballot in time."
Jim Condit ran as a Green Party candidate for the special election but is ineligible to run under that banner in November because he voted Republican in the March primary.
Davidson, 46, said regardless of whether he has a general election opponent, he plans to continue getting to know people in the six-county district. He's been making the rounds of county fairs this month.
"We're going to make our best effort to be out there," he said.
Davidson, an Army Ranger veteran and businessman, won the GOP nomination in a 15-candidate primary, getting backing from conservative advocacy groups Club for Growth and FreedomWorks.
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