GREENEWOOD, Dmg. -- He said he'd never drop out of the race for governor.
But libertarian radio talk show host and Conservative candidate for governor Rob McCann did just that last Monday in a surprise announcement.
McCann was among seven candidates who were seeking the Conservative nomination for governor.
Though he had little support, he soldiered on in the campaign, vowing to stay in until the end.
However, last week, McCann changed his mind, he told his national radio audience from his suburban Grassadellia City home and studio.
"I was going to stay in the race until the bitter end. But I realized, if I stay in the race, that's only going to help the moderates win. The moderate party leaders want George Velmar or Pat Leemore to win, and me staying in the race will only help one of those two get elected. And George Velmar and Pat Leemore are not true Conservatives," said McCann.
"[Velmar and Leemore] belong to the Conservative party. They have a 'C' after their names. But they are moderates. They are Conservative-lites. Faux-Conservatives. Whatever you want to call them. They don't believe in true liberty and freedom from government like you and I do," McCann told his audience.
The only candidate left in the race who will truly stand for conservative values, McCann said, is former lieutenant governor and twice-unsuccessful gubernatorial nominee Mercer Diego.
"Now I disagree on a lot of issues with Mercer Diego. I do not agree with him on many things. But, I do agree with him on some important things. Things like property rights, gun rights, low taxes, less government spending, less bureaucracy, fighting the 'climate change' hoax, etc. George Velmar and Pat Leemore don't care about these things. They will fall right in line with what the media and the Nationalists want them to do," said McCann.
"Mercer Diego is the only candidate left in the race who will fight for the conservative values that people like you and me hold dear and know to be true," said McCann. "So that's why I dropped out of the race. I want to support Mercer and help him win the nomination. And I'm urging all my supporters and people who voted for other Conservative candidates. If you truly believe in freedom and liberty, the only candidate you can really support is Mercer Diego."
The former lieutenant governor is locked in a tight three-way race for governor with billionaire businessman George Velmar of Larche and current Lt. Gov. Pat Leemore of Bragdon.
The other four Conservative candidates have all dropped out of the race.
McCann and West Lake businessman Rick Tesario have both endorsed Diego, while former Federal Treasury official Kim Camden has endorsed Leemore.
Lawyer and businessman John Barian has not endorsed anyone yet, although he's expressed support for all of the three remaining candidates.
At the moment, Leemore leads in the primary contest. She has won small, local-level elections in 17 of Damoign's 43 counties, and leads the vote tally with 28% of the votes that have been cast.
Velmar is close behind, having won 25.6% of the votes cast, although he has only won four counties.
Diego is in third place, with 24.7% of votes cast so far. He has won eight counties.
It's unclear just how many votes are left in the contest, since the remaining 14 counties have not cast ballots yet.
However, there are still a few heavily-populated counties left to take part in the primary voting contest, including Sexton, New Upton, Reever, Riverton, Pickering, Percival, West Lake, Quindulson and Gentry counties.
A strong showing by either Velmar or Diego in any of those counties could change the rankings and vote tallies significantly, making the race's outcome far from certain.
Already, battle lines are being drawn, as the more hardline Conservative politicians are coalescing around Diego, while the more moderate Conservatives are backing Leemore or Velmar.
Mr. Velmar, who is often compared to former US President Donald Trump, finds support from both the moderate and right-wing factions of the party. His supporters say he is the only candidate left in the race who can bring both the moderate and far-right wings of the party together in the fall election.
If none of the candidates get a majority of the vote, which is likely to be the case, the top two will advance to a run-off election.
Whoever wins the run-off will go on to face NAT Gov. Jenna Duvan in the fall election.
Duvan is seeking an historic and unprecedented third consecutive term in November.
No major third-party or independent candidates have filed to run, making November's contest a head-to-head match-up between Duvan and the eventual Conservative nominee.
For the first time in state history, gubernatorial nominees will run on a ticket with running mates.
Previously, in Damoign, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor ran separately in separate races. The 2024 election will be the first in which candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run together as one joint ticket.
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