Rep. Perlmutter exits Colorado governor's race

Source: ABC News

Rep. Ed Perlmutter officially ended his campaign for Colorado governor on Tuesday three months after announcing it, saying he lacked "the fire in the belly" to campaign in an increasingly crowded Democratic primary field while also representing the Denver suburbs in Congress.

Once viewed as the Democratic front-runner for governor, Perlmutter said he will also not run for re-election to the House of Representatives because it'd be unfair to the three Democrats — whom he called friends — who already announced their candidacies for his seat after the congressman's gubernatorial kickoff in April.

"I thought I could do it all," he told a crowd of reporters and weeping volunteers crammed into his suburban campaign office. "I'm telling you, in front of you all, I can't."

Perlmutter acknowledged that his decision was forced by the surprise entry of Rep. Jared Polis into the Democratic primary last month. Polis is independently wealthy and can self-finance his campaign, increasing the pressure on others like Perlmutter to raise funds.

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