Mike Parrish
The primary race for the Democratic nomination for the 6th Congressional District ended more than three weeks early, when Lindy Li was forced to drop out of her race against Mike Parrish over questions with her nominating petitions, late Friday night.
Parrish is now slated to take on freshman incumbent Republican Ryan Costello in November.
“I am thankful to be focusing full time on the November General Election which is a must-win for the American people,” said Parrish in a statement. “Leadership is sorely lacking in Washington and we need a dramatic change in Congress.”
Parrish, a businessman who is a West Point graduate and served 14 years in the U.S. Army as an officer, said he knows that leadership is about selfless service. He made the point that he is running to serve our community, lead in Washington and get real results for the people of the Sixth District and our country and that Li’s decision was selfless and showed leadership.
“I applaud Lindy for her willingness to jump into the political process and I thank her for withdrawing from the race when it was time to do so,” Parrish said. “By stepping aside, she has cleared the way for everyone to work together and focus on giving the people of the Sixth district the leadership we deserve in Washington.”
Li officially dropped out of the race via court order late Friday evening following a three-day hearing in Commonwealth Court challenging her nominating petitions. The challenge, brought by attorney Kevin Greenberg on behalf of the Parrish campaign and three prominent Sixth District Democratic leaders, alleged a variety of defects with the petition signatures submitted by Li.
“Gathering a large number of good petition signatures is the first and most important test of a candidate’s strength,” said Greenberg. “Despite an honest effort, Ms. Li was in a tough spot and she made a wise and brave choice to step aside and allow the Party to move forward without continued litigation.”
While the deck is cleared for the April primary, Parrish acknowledged that the fall race will be a tough one.
“Today’s win is a victory for our campaign, but a minor victory. The important victory has to come in November,” said Parrish. “In the coming months, I will continue to work tirelessly on winning this campaign, just as I will work tirelessly to give our community the representation we deserve in Washington. I look forward to working with Lindy, with party leaders, and with every resident of the Sixth District of every political affiliation to show that Congress can deliver jobs, quality education, and opportunities for all, and not just a bunch of sound bites. Together we can build a coalition and raise the money required to defeat Ryan Costello and his running mate, whether that is Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.”
