ended his campaign for Congress on Monday, following lackluster fundraising and the entrance of a second well-funded primary challenger.
“I need to continue focusing on my district, House District 62,” Valdez said in an interview, adding that he will be running for a third term in the Colorado House next year with a focus on education and water issues.
Valdez, a cowboy hat-wearing moderate Democrat from southern Colorado, was running to take on Republican Rep. Scott Tipton. He described himself as a pragmatic voice for rural Colorado as he campaigned across the state’s largest congressional district, the expansive 3rd District of western and southern Colorado.
But his fundraising trailed that of other Democrats in the race. Valdez received $24,745 in donations last quarter, well behind the roughly $150,000 that both Tipton and Democratic challenger Diane Mitsch Bush raised in the third quarter.
On Friday, another Democratic contender, James Iacino, announced he had raised $156,455 in the first two weeks of his campaign. Three days later, Valdez announced his departure. It was first reported by .
National Democratic groups have targeted the 3rd District for years, hoping to bump Tipton from office, but have lacked a strong enough candidate to beat the Cortez Republican. The GOP remains confident that the largely rural county, which also includes Pueblo, will continue to be in their control through at least 2020.
When asked if he is endorsing another Democrat in the 3rd District race, Valdez laughed and said, “I would endorse Leroy Garcia at this time. But I know he’s not in the race, so at this time I will not be endorsing.”
Garcia, a Pueblo Democrat and president of the Colorado Senate, has repeatedly declined to say whether he will seek the 3rd District seat.
