GOLDEN — U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, of colleague , announced Tuesday he is exiting the governor’s race and relinquishing his seat in Congress at the end of his term.
The six-term Arvada Democrat launched three months ago only to see his momentum blunted by the entry of his friend, , a Boulder Democrat with deep pockets to fuel a campaign.
Perlmutter, renowned for his relentless door-to-door retail politics, soon realized he didn’t have the “fire in the belly” to meet the demands of the campaign and his job representing Colorado’s 7th Congressional District.
“It takes time and it takes money and it takes energy — and putting all those together, I found looking down deep it was going to be a tough road to hoe,” Perlmutter told reporters and a handful of tearful supporters at his campaign office in Golden.
One reason for his change of heart: the shooting of Scalise, the Republican whip in the House, by a gunman at a congressional baseball team practice.
“I know when Steve Scalise got shot, that had something to do with it,” Perlmutter said. “You know, I just took a good look at things.”
Perlmutter acknowledged when , just days before the shooting, it changed his calculus, but he downplayed the suggestion that his modest fundraising contributed to the decision.
The campaign raised $350,000 from 1,200 contributors, he said, calling it a “respectable” total.
The Denver Post his exit from the race Monday. The field remains crowded, with former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy, former state Sen. Mike Johnston and entrepreneur Noel Ginsburg.
More than his departure from the race, his retirement from Congress is a remarkable turnabout after a combined two decades in elected office that date back to 1994 when he first won a state Senate seat.
Three state lawmakers, Sens. Andy Kerr and Dominck Moreno and Rep. Brittany Pettersen, are currently campaigning to replace him. “Sometimes you need to move on and somebody else needs to bring in new insights,” Perlmutter said.
Perlmutter declined to endorse a successor for his congressional seat or a favorite in the governor’s race. And he left open the door for a return to politics in the future, though he said he has no immediate plans in mind and looked forward to “a little time to think about it.”
In the moments before his announcement, Perlmutter took an informal tour of his career, circulating the office to greet family and friends. He paused to admire photos of campaign volunteers on the walk, stretching to find one of his mother. And he looked into a storage closet, pointing to boxes from his eight years in the state Senate and another marked fundraising.
Perlmutter thanked his supporters in his emotional remarks. “I know this decision is disappointing to many of you,” he said. “And it is for me, too.”