If you think Tennessee's Third district Congressional primary is crowded.. Check out the 11th district in the North Carolina mountains.
Until yesterday.. There were nine candidates in the race to replace Heath Shuler.
And that's just on the Republican side.
On Monday... Dr. Dan Eichenbaum from Murphy dropped out.. Cutting the field to eight.
He was the only candidate from Murphy in the race.
Here is the full press release from Dr. Eichenbaum:
With the filing deadline upon us, having spent many of the past days in prayer and discussions with family and friends, I have decided that I will not file for US Congress in North Carolina’s 11th District.
Over the past several months of the campaign, listening to the other candidates for Congress in NC 11, I find increasingly little difference, on paper or in words, between the positions I have consistently held and theirs. More importantly, I am unable to self-fund sufficiently to compete against those who can. As such, I see no clear path to victory in the primary.
I wish to extend my appreciation to my wife and my children, my team, family, friends and all who have supported me in my political endeavors over the past two election cycles. My thanks and appreciation go out to the Asheville Tea Party, Blue Ridge Tea Party Patriots, Cherokee County 9-12 Project, the FairTax organization, and other grassroots organizations who, standing firm on conservative principles, refuse to give in to pressure from the establishment of both political parties.
I extend my deepest heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Jane Bilello, Chair of the Asheville Tea Party and Asheville Tea Pac, for her unwavering commitment to saving our nation at great personal sacrifice.
For those candidates seeking the support of grassroots groups, especially those affiliated with the iCaucus, I urge you to submit to its vetting process. Evaluation and approval of your platform by independent groups gives citizens of this district the ability to hold you accountable for your actions in Washington, D.C.
Be assured, I will continue to champion private property rights, Constitutionally limited government, personal responsibility, fiscal restraint, individual liberty, and a free market economy based on the principles of sound monetary policy.
I remain passionately committed to educating everyone I can on the urgency of repealing ObamaCare in January 2013, and spreading awareness about Agenda 21, the United Nation’s incremental plan to take away US citizen's private property rights and, ultimately, US sovereignty.
As patriots, we must resist with vigor the elitists in the current administration and their fellow travelers in both parties who seek to steal our birthright of Freedom and replace it with the tyranny of Socialism.
Here is a response from Candidate Vance Patterson
Upon receiving confirmation that Dr. Dan Eichenbaum has withdrawn from the race for the Congressional seat in the 11th District of North Carolina, fellow front runner, Vance Patterson issued a statement today.
“Dr. Dan was a very strong candidate in this campaign and it is unfortunate that he will not remain in this race.
Dr. Dan and I share fundamental values on many issues and I respect his platform.
He is a supporter of the TEA Party movement and is a strong supporter of Term Limits.
While we began campaigning last July, the race for the 11th Congressional seat is just getting started. I will continue to work hard for Western North Carolinians to create jobs, roll back NAFTA and CAFTA, reduce the size of government and stand strong against Obamacare and Agenda 21.
I am moving forward to reach Victory for the people of North Carolina.”
