I received an email from Nancy Skinner's campaign this morning, stating that she will be withdrawing from the race in Michigan's 9th Congressional district.
Despite winning Democracy for America's 2008 Grassroots All Star contest (see SharonRB's diary for details), Nancy Skinner has been unable to match the fundraising of former Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters. According to the Detroit Free Press, she is stepping aside to let Peters focus his resources on incumbent Republican Joe Knollenberg:
"The truth is that it takes enormous resources to beat an incumbent, and given the way our late primary is structured, a costly primary is a gift to Knollenberg", Skinner said. "Gary Peters has been able to amass those resources and support at a level that I have not been able to this point."
I'm conflicted about this. While it's crucial to have well-funded candidates to take on incumbent Republicans, it's a shame that a progressive with national support couldn't compete against a local establishment candidate. (I don't know much about Peters' progressive credentials, but he does seem to have the support of the local party and labor.)
That said, it's better we spend our resources defeating Republicans than fighting amongst ourselves. I guess that's what worries me about the spending in the Presidential primary, as well. I'm just hoping that the record fundraising by both candidates is bringing more new donors in, rather than taking away funds from down-ticket candidates. I know I've seen some donor fatigue locally.
The full email:
My dearest friends and supporters:
Today I announced my decision to withdraw from Michigan's 9th District Congressional Race. Obviously this was a very difficult decision for me to make. Please watch for the news release explaining my reasons for withdrawing.
I wanted to personally reach out to the people who have supported me for so long now. Although I still feel passionately about bringing about progressive change, it became clear that we will not have the resources necessary to make that happen in this election.
The hardest part of coming to a decision like this is that I do not want to lose one ounce of energy that we at Team Skinner have built up. We made this district a national target for Democrats. We brought energy, ideas and great people power to this district. We must channel this energy now on a new mission, and we will be in touch with you soon with more specific plans.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting my campaign. It's a heavy heart indeed, but it is warmed by the knowledge that there are kindred souls who have joined with me as supporters and friends. That is something we can never lose.
My warmest thanks,
Nancy Skinner