Delaware's lone Republican in the attorney general race drops out

Scott Goss | The News Journal

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Peggy Marshall Thomas, the Republican Party's lone candidate for state attorney general, is dropping out of the race.

"After talking with my family this weekend, I have made the very difficult decision to withdraw from the Attorney General race," she said. "I want to thank the many people who worked to support my campaign and shared my vision for the Department of Justice."

Thomas said she will have no further comment and asked the media to "respect her privacy."

Thomas has not yet made any public announcement on her campaign's website or Facebook page. Both pages appeared to have been deleted within minutes of her comment being released.

Thomas's announcement came less than 48 hours after she reportedly attended campaign events on Saturday. Sources told The News Journal that they were first informed of Thomas's decision on Monday.

“This morning Chairman (Mike) Harrington received a call from Peggy Marshall’s campaign indicating that she was withdrawing from the race for personal reasons," Delaware GOP Vice Chair Emily Taylor said. "We are sad to lose her as a candidate and we wish her well.”

Her abrupt departure does not automatically mean the winner of a four-way Democratic primary for attorney general will succeed retiring incumbent Democrat Matt Denn next year.

But it does make it more likely.

Delaware Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove said the party could nominate someone to replace Thomas on the ballot by Sept. 4. But first Thomas would have to formally ask to have her name removed – something she had not done as of late Monday afternoon.

It remains unclear whether Thomas will seek to have her name taken off the ballot or whether the Delaware GOP will be able to find a replacement candidate in time.

Thomas's decision brings to end a campaign that lasted only five weeks.

The 57-year-old Lewes resident became the last candidate to enter the race when she filed to run on July 7 – less than 24 hours before the candidate filing deadline.

Thomas previously had been considering a run since at least April when she officially formed a campaign committee, allowing her to begin seeking contributions. Her campaign has not been required to publicly disclose those contributions because she was not facing any primary challengers.

The four Democrats seeking the attorney general post did release campaign finance reports before Friday's deadline for all primary candidates, however.

Those documents showed that Democrat Kathleen Jennings raised $441,000 over the last seven months – a total more than twice her three primary opponents combined.

Jennings, a former state prosecutor, still had a reported $324,000 in her war chest as of last week, dwarfing the cash on hand reported by every other candidate for statewide office running in next month's primary.

Jennings will face fellow Democratic AG candidates Chris Johnson, a former deputy legal counsel for Gov. John Carney; Tim Mullaney, a former Delaware Department of Justice chief of staff under the late Beau Biden; and Lakresha Roberts, a former chief deputy attorney general under Denn.

Although Thomas's decision came late, she is not the only Republican candidate to quit a political race this year.

Businessman Chuck Boyce ended his year-long campaign for U.S. Senate in March due to unspecified health concerns. He was later replaced by Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett who will face New Castle County businessman Eugene Truono in next month's Republican primary.

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Kenneth "Ed" Brandt, a brigadier general chaplain in the National Guard, dropped his U.S. Congressional bid in April just days after announcing his candidacy. His decision came amid questions about whether his campaign announcement at a Republican Party event might have violated a federal rule that bars active-duty military personnel from engaging in partisan political speech.

He was replaced by actor Lee Murphy who will face fellow Republican Scott Walker in next months primary.

More recently, Joan Winters concluded her short-lived candidacy for state auditor. She has been replaced by fellow Republican James Spadola, who will face the winner of a three-way Democratic primary between former chief administrative auditor Kathleen Davies, Rehoboth Beach City Councilman Kathleen McGuiness and former state representative Dennis E. Williams.

Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.