Well, that didn’t take long. Chris Minor, a Blackwater contractor who announced a bid against freshman Dem Joe Donnelly just a few weeks ago, is dropping out of the race:
Blackwater contractor Chris Minor announced early Friday he’s dropping out of the Indiana 2nd District congressional race, citing conflicts with his upcoming duties in Iraq.Minor, a former Kokomo High School graduate and retired U.S. Army officer, announced in late September he would challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger.
Friday, Minor said running for office would be “too great a distraction” from his upcoming deployment as an independent contractor in Iraq.
Minor was a gong show candidate. He denied any closeness with the Blackwater, choosing to instead classify his affairs with the company as being merely a “pay relationship” (whatever that’s supposed to mean). That didn’t stop him from defending the company earlier in the month, though:
Minor said he thinks Blackwater will be vindicated by the investigations.“I think once the investigations are over, we’ll see a bunch of guys who have just been fighting in a very tough, combat environment.”
Guess not, Chris.
There were other facets of Minor’s profile that were less than compelling, including his decision to resign from the Kokomo Police Department after an off-duty altercation, as well as a drunk driving charge.
I guess it’s back to the drawing board for Indiana Republicans.
Race Tracker: IN-02