Hurt Out

Daily Journal - Hurt suspends campaign for House District 1 - Democratic congressional candidate Ken Hurt announced Wednesday he's suspending his campaign but said he will still work to influence the race. Hurt, who faced four challengers in the Democratic bid for 1st District U.S. House Representatives, said poor health and a lucrative book deal prompted his decision. Because it's too late to remove his name from the March 11 election ballot, Hurt said he will participate in debates if they're organized. But he urged people not to vote for him. Instead, he'll endorse another Democratic candidate he agrees with. In discussing his book, the longtime political operative said, "I'm going to tell all on everybody." He declined to reveal the publisher, but said, "I've been offered a real sizable advance." In the meantime, the 71-year-old from Verona wants to rally statewide support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.