Free Daily Headlines

News

Set your text size: A A A

Democrat drops out of 11th District race

Democrat Matt Coffay has announced that he is ending his campaign in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district, citing personal circumstances.

“The last few months have been an incredible journey, campaigning across western North Carolina six and seven days a week, talking to so many of you throughout the 11th District,” Coffay said. “Unfortunately, I have had sudden personal circumstances occur that are beyond my control. After extensive deliberation with my loved ones as well as with my campaign staff, I’ve decided that I have to drop out of the race in order to address these acute personal needs.”

The Coffay campaign said it remains committed to progressive causes across western North Carolina. Momentum created from the course of the campaign thus far will be focused on continued efforts to sustain the movement across the district and bolster the Democratic party in North Carolina, his campaign said in a media release.

“I’m very proud of the incredible amount of work that we’ve been able to accomplish, the movement we’ve catalyzed, and the amount of support we’ve received all in a relatively short amount of time,” Coffay said. “We deserve a Congressman that represents the middle class and working families, not by someone whose interests lie with the top 1 percent. For this reason we wish our primary opponent, Phillip Price, and any other Democratic candidates who come forward the best of luck in the fight to defeat Mark Meadows.”

Matt Coffay, 30, announced his run for the 11th Congressional District seat in April. He leads a local chapter of Our Revolution, an organization aligned with the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party. He grew up outside Blue Ridge, Ga., and graduated from UNCA. He was a farmer in Alexander until last year, when he took a job with the nonprofit National Young Farmers Coalition, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported.