OH-15: Brooks out, Kilroy in

From the Dispatch blog:

Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks dropped out of the race for Congress this morning in the 15th District and is running for re-election next year instead.

That clears the way for fellow Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce of Upper Arlington in 2008.

Kilroy lost a race against Pryce last year.

Interesting. Why did Brooks drop out?

Brooks this morning said she was confident she could have won the Democratic primary and the general-election race. But she acknowledged that winning both elections would “require an immense amount of time and effort to raise the necessary funds.”

She also said that she did not want to split the party, and that her candidacy would “result in a contentious primary for our party leadership and rank-and-file.”

Sounds like she lost the behind the scenes politicking. At least she didn’t say she wanted to spend more time with her family!

Also at Buckeye State Blog.