Western Colorado Democrats are again looking for a candidate to challenge U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, after Buffie McFadyen withdrew from the race Sunday night.
McFadyen made the announcement on her campaign's Facebook page and cited family reasons.
McFadyen is a Pueblo County Commissioner and former state representative. She entered the race Feb. 10 and promised a vigorous campaign against Tipton.
But she wrote that she made the decision to back out Wednesday after watching her son's high school lacrosse game.
"After a great deal of thought and deliberation, I have decided to withdraw from the 3rd Congressional race," McFadyen wrote.
"My son is a high school sophomore. After watching his first home game, I realized I'm not prepared to miss his last two years of high school here in Colorado. Time with our children moves much too swiftly, and like any mom, I want to spend as much time as possible with my son over the next two years," she wrote.
Tipton is serving his second term in Congress, and McFadyen was the first experienced candidate to step forward to challenge him.
Rick Palacio, chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party, said Tipton will not be without an opponent for long.
"We're doing everything we can to field another candidate. I would predict in the next five to seven days, we will see someone announce," Palacio said.
Ryan Call, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, said Democrats don't want to challenge Tipton.
"Today's announcement shows that even Democrats believe Congressman Tipton is a strong leader and an effective representative who deserves to be reelected," Call said in a news release.
Palacio said Call's statement was laughable, and Democrats will show that Tipton's voting record is not in Colorado's best interest.
"He was just as responsible as anyone for shutting down the federal government," Call said.
joeh@cortezjournal.com
