State Sen. Dave Craig (R-Town of Vernon) issued the following statement on Friday saying he is not running for Congress in the 1st Congressional District:
From the bottom of our whole family’s hearts, we want to thank everyone for the outpouring of prayers, support, and encouragement over the last few days. While there is no question we need a strong conservative in Washington, the Lord has different plans for Amy and I and for the little hearts he has entrusted to us. I look forward to continuing advocating for constitutional principles in the State Senate, and we look forward to speaking to all of you soon.
God Bless, Dave and Amy Craig
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) also withdrew his name from consideration on Friday while speaking on the Jay Weber Show on WISN-AM (40:35), taking a shot at his conservative critics.
“Now, sometimes conservative activists aren’t happy that we didn’t go far enough,” Vos said. “And there’s always a lot of whining from some on the far right that Wisconsin could do more.”
However, Vos said, he’ll have the chance in two years to become the president of an organization that focuses on state legislators.
“While it would be very tempting for me to go to Washington, I’ve decided I’m going to stay in Wisconsin, stay in the state Assembly, and hope to bring back a very strong conservative majority to show Washington how states can lead and not the reverse,” Vos said.
The decisions by Craig and Vos mean the two remaining serious candidates under consideration are State Rep. Samantha Kerkman (R-Salem) and University of Wisconsin Board of Regents member Bryan Steil.
Vos also discussed his trip to London which was the subject of a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
