Matthew Dowd announced on Tuesday he is ending his campaign in the race for Texas lieutenant governor, saying he wants to make room for a more diverse candidate.
The Democrat announced the end of his campaign on social media, citing an op-ed he wrote saying white male Christians should “step back and give more people who don’t look like us access to the levers of power” and that he will not file in the Democratic primary.
“When I first announced [my campaign], the only other candidate was a white male Christian,” Dowd wrote. “A diverse field is now emerging in the Democratic primary for this office. I do not want to be the one who stands in the way of the greater diversity we need in politics.”
TEXAS STATE LAWMAKER FLEES DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND JOINS GOP
Important news. I am ending my campaign for Lt. Governor of Texas. Now that the race is emerging in a more diverse way, I have made the decision from a place of integrity to step back. see attached release. pic.twitter.com/SOl8ZJJFnz
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) December 7, 2021
Dowd wrote that while he is leaving the race, he is not dropping out of politics. He is in the process of converting his campaign candidate committee into a general purpose committee “to support those who serve the public with integrity.”
Dowd joined the race on Sept. 29 as a Democrat. An ex-Republican and aide to former President George W. Bush, he said his disenchantment with the GOP was accelerated by his opposition to former President Donald Trump.
Dowd’s discontinuation of his campaign comes a month after Democratic state Rep. Michelle Beckley joined the race. Beckley gained national attention when she joined lawmakers who fled to Washington, D.C., to block a Republican election bill in the summer, according to the Texas Tribune.
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Dan Patrick, the current lieutenant governor, did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
