Wallace Withdraws From Senate Race

I've written before about U.S. Senate candidate Eric Wallace, one of the several conservative candidates seeking to prevent the nomination of liberal Republican congressman Mark Kirk (Kirk has been endorsed by my legislative opponent, Sandy Cole). Kirk was one of only eight Republican Congressmen who voted for Cap & Trade, and is also pro-abortion, pro-gay "marriage", pro gun control, and opposed the surge in Iraq.

The U.S. Senate seat in question is that currently held by Senator Roland Burris, who was appointed by now-impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich, following the election of President Obama. Coincidentally, it is the same seat once held by Democrat Stephen A. Douglas in the 19th century.

But today, the last day for candidates to file their petitions and candidacy paperwork, Eric Wallace has announced that he will not be a candidate:

Eric Wallace, conservative candidate for Il U.S Senate, formally announces today (Monday, November 2, 2009) that despite meeting minimum signature requirements he will not, at this time, seek his party’s (R) nomination. Wallace states, “While the goal continues to be the coalescing of our efforts behind a candidate committed to upholding conservative values—I have decided that it is in the best interest of the conservative movement that I not run at this time. The most important issue here is not my candidacy, but that the conservative principles and values that our campaign has been espousing across the state continue to gain momentum; and that we find a person to consolidate around who will champion this cause.

I know that a lot of people whom I greatly respect have been supporters of Wallace's candidacy, but I'm relieved to see this, because, as Wallace himself states, we have too many conservative candidates to oppose just one well-funded liberal. I salute Dr. Wallace for his decision.

Other conservative candidates include Patrick Hughes, Robert Zadek, and John Arrington. I've had the pleasure of meeting Zadek and Arrington in the course of my own campaigning, including sharing the stage with Arrington at a candidate forum just this past Saturday. I can say that I've been very favorably impressed by both Arrington and Zadek. Hughes comes with a substantial amount of his own money and the endorsements of several high-profile pro-life leaders, so I'm favorably disposed towards him, but I have not yet been impressed by him or by his campaign. I'm still waiting.

(Originally posted to the Thoughts of a Regular Guy blog.)