Republican Josh Duvall this morning announced his formal withdrawal from the CD1 contest, a challenge he had hoped would unsteady incumbent U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-1).

Below is his statement:

“When I launched my campaign against Donald Norcross for New Jersey’s First Congressional District last May, I knew it was an uphill battle with long odds. Nevertheless, I believed there was at least a small window of opportunity to be a legitimately competitive candidate in one of the toughest Democratic districts in the country.”

“However, after much thought, prayer, and deliberation, I have decided to drop out of the race.”

“As the minority party in South Jersey, we must reach out to traditional Democrats and Independent voters who feel left behind by today’s radical far-left agenda driven Progressive Democrat party, not push them away. We must have a big tent party that is welcoming to people from all walks of life who have come to the realization that this upcoming election represents a choice between individual freedom or government run socialism. We must make the case for applying our timeless principles to the problems of our time, instead of attacking those who don’t pass an arbitrary Republican purity test. We must lead from the front, engaging our constituents with commonsense ideas and practical solutions that make sense to them, instead of agenda driven rhetoric that we’ve all come to abhor.”

“It has been made clear, this messaging strategy is not shared by the leadership of the GOP. Instead of engaging the 85% of non-republican voters in this district with common sense ideas, the party approach has been to attack and disparage anyone who doesn’t support every word and decision of President Trump. Instead of talking about issues and solutions, we’ve reduced our ‘outreach’ to name calling and posting Trump memes on social media.”

“There is no pathway for a candidate who puts people above party, and pragmatism above politics.”

“To all of my supporters, donors, friends, and family members; I want to sincerely thank you for your continued perseverance and steadfastness. Working on your behalf to reach out to voters and defend the values and ideals we cherish has been an honor. While this leg of the journey didn’t end the way I wanted it to, I’m confident that the best is yet to come for me, my family, and the good people of South Jersey.”

“While I’m ending my candidacy for Congress, I will never stop fighting for those enduring ideals that I believe offer the best opportunity of prosperity for all people; namely life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, in a free society.”

ABOUT: Duvall received his bachelors in Management, concentrating in Finance and Marketing from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and his Executive Degree in Financial Planning from the Fischer School of Business at The Ohio State University. Duvall currently runs his own financial planning and accounting business, and works with other organizations managing their marketing and online content. He also works with several non-profits, sits on the Cherry Hill GOP committee, volunteers with youth sports, and is actively involved in his local church. Duvall is a cancer survivor and is married with two young children.