BREAKING: Minority Leader Calls On Doherty To Drop Out Of Congressional Race
Dan McGowan, GoLocalProv News Editor
BREAKING: Minority Leader Calls On Doherty To Drop Out Of Congressional Race
In a Facebook posting this morning, Newberry called Col. Doherty an “honorable man but his campaign for the 1st District congressional seat is misguided.”
Newberry criticized Doherty for not fundraising in the 1st District and for having too many Democratic supporters.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“The bottom line is that, from what I can observe, nearly all of Col. Doherty's support among Republicans comes from either his hometown of Cumberland (understandable) or from the 2nd District,” Newberry wrote. “By contrast John has a huge network of grassroots support within the 1st. District stemming not just from his run in 2010 but from his years of working with the GOP in Rhode Island. Further, not all of John's support is from Republicans. As we all know, he was endorsed across the political spectrum by many Democrats in 2010.”
Newberry offered two suggestions for the Doherty campaign.
“1. End his campaign, throw his support to John Loughlin and return his campaign contributions, asking his supporters to re-contribute the same money to John; or
2. Announce he will shift gears and run against Jim Langevin in the 2nd District. Nothing prohibits him from doing that and I am unaware of any Republican candidates who have announced their intention or are thinking about running in that race. Col. Doherty has statewide appeal and can run a good campaign in the 2nd District. We are a small state and the issues are the same in both districts. His Cumberland residency is no legal obstacle and should not prove a political one in a state as geographically small as ours.”
The Doherty campaign was not immediately avaliable for comment.