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Libertarian candidate in the 8th drops out

An actor who was hoping to run as a libertarian in the 8th Congressional District has decided to call it quits.

Eric Wisener told pa2010.com this week that he doesn’t have the grassroots support he needs to run against incumbent Democrat Patrick Murphy and Republican challenger Mike Fitzpatrick. Wisener insisted he has gathered enough signatures to get on the general election ballot, but said he doesn’t have enough of a political organization to mount a legitimate campaign in the fall.

“I don’t have a big enough network to make a lot of noise,” Wisener said.

His decision to withdraw came just as perennial candidate Tom Lingenfelter decided to enter the race as an independent. Wisener said he’s already planning to run in 2012, and will use the time until then to help the Libertarian party in Bucks County grow. For now, it’s possible that Wisener will become Lingenfelter’s campaign manager, both men said.

Wisener said he doesn’t want to just siphon votes away from the major party candidates.

“I don’t want to be a spoiler,” he said.

July 28, 2010 at 3:39 pm

--Eric Katz

Tags: Eric Wisener, Mike Fitzpatrick, PA-8, Patrick Murphy, Tom Lingenfelter

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