October 03, 2007 02:08 AM UTC

Eidness Drops Out of CD-4 Race

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• by: Colorado Pols

And then there was one.

Just one week after Democrat Angie Paccione ended her campaign for congress in CD-4, former Republican Reform Party candidate turned Democrat Eric Eidsness pulled his well-traveled hat out of the ring.

As The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports:

Eric Eidsness abandoned his bid for Northern Colorado’s Democratic congressional nomination, apparently clearing the way for Betsy Markey to challenge Republican incumbent Marilyn Musgrave next November.

“The hand writing is on the wall and I see it is not my time to be elected to national office to represent (Colorado’s 4th Congressional District),” Eidsness said in a prepared statement. “While my populist message appeals to a broad range of voters, particularly in the more rural areas, I do not have the support I will need here in Larimer County to win the Democratic nomination.”

You can file that quote away in the “No Shit” department. Eidsness pulled a hefty 11% of the vote in 2006 as a Reform Party candidate – one of the best third party showings in years – but he was going to have a hell of a time getting on the ballot as a Democrat because he switches parties more often than Paris Hilton.

The Democratic nomination seems secure for Betsy Markey…for now. But if Markey reports another weak quarter of fundraising, the door may be open for another Democrat to enter.