Former Democratic congressional staffer Wendell Fant announced Friday that he will not mount a third-party campaign against North Carolina Rep. Larry Kissell, rebuffing calls from activists to challenge the Democratic incumbent for his vote against health care reform.
Fant has been urged to make the race by North Carolina Families First, a labor-backed group that gathered more than 30,000 petitions to put Fant's name on the ballot. [...]
Fant also said Kissell had soothed the frustration of some liberals when he voted for the Democratic-backed American Jobs Act in May.
"He's also heard our message...and lately he's voted in ways that make a difference for all of us," Fant said, praising Kissell for "voting for jobs and our families and against corporate special interests."
You may recall a recent PPP poll that suggested that Kissell would actually have an easier time with Fant in the mix, as Fant's candidacy drew a significant amount of Republican support from Harold Johnson. I'm on the record as doubting that such a split would be sustainable through a heated election campaign, as conservatives wouldn't be likely to stick with the left-leaning Fant after a rigorous campaign by all comers. Fant's presence on the ballot had much more potential to split core Democratic support than anything else, making this turn of events good news for Larry Kissell.
