Arizona: Babeu Polling Third Before Dropping Out
State Sen. Ron Gould’s campaign conducted a poll this week of the GOP field in the Arizona 4th district race, and a source said Sheriff Paul Babeu was sitting in third place in that survey.
Babeu announced his withdrawal from the race early Friday morning. His own campaign had conducted a poll as recently as this week, according to his political consultant, Chris DeRose.
“We had a poll that came back Tuesday that showed us within single digits of the lead,” DeRose said.
A January poll from the Babeu camp had him as the frontrunner in the race. But then February came, and the Babeu campaign found itself at the center of a firestorm involving his sexuality and accusations about his ethics.
Babeu’s former GOP primary opponents weighed in on his withdrawal.
“The decision to enter a race is not easy. The decision to drop out is even harder,” Rep. Paul Gosar said in a statement. “I respect Paul Babeu’s decision and I believe it was the right one for him personally and the people in the district.”