Cong. 17th: Walter (I) Withdraws

On June 23, while I was away, developer Randy Walter (I-Canfield) dropped his independent bid for the 17th District Congressional seat of Rep. Tim Ryan (D), as reported here. The Trumbull County Board of Elections is investgating irregularities in the collection of signatures for his nominating petitions, and Walter stated that he did not wish to campaign under a cloud of suspicion.

This was Walter's third unsuccessful attempt to run against Ryan. In 2004 he filed as an independent but did not collect enough signatures, and in 2002 he filed as a Democrat but withdrew. In 2000, Walter ran as an independent against former Rep. James Traficant and came in third, behind Traficant and Republican Paul Alberty.

Ryan still faces opposition from Don Manning II (R-Cortland), who got onto the ballot as a write-in candidate.