Blogger Vivian Paige is reporting Friday morning that Richmond political consultant and activist Rich Savage is dropping out of the race for the Democratic Party lieutenant-governor nomination.
Savage sent a statement announcing his intention to Page this morning. Paige reported on her blog that she confirmed the news in a phone call with Savage.
Savage cited the economic downturn as presenting “too great a financial hurdle for my campaign to overcome” in his announcement.
“I am thankful for the support that so many Virginians have given to me, and am proud of the work we have done together. While I did not achieve my goal of becoming lieutenant governor, I am proud of the voice we raised in this campaign for education reform,” said Savage, who had made education his top focus in his campaign.
“I call on the candidates who remain in the race – all of them good people and capable leaders – to seize the mantle of education reform. I will certainly continue to speak out for innovative solutions to the challenges that our schools face,” Savage said.
A Public Policy Polling survey released this week had Savage running fourth among the five candidates then competing for the lieutenant-governor nomination, but the poll showed the race wide-open with frontrunner Jody Wagner getting the support of only 9 percent of those surveyed and 73 percent of those participating in the survey saying they were still undecided.
– Story by Chris Graham