Branford resident and locally elected official Ray Ingraham announced today he is withdrawing from the race for the 102nd State Representative seat in the November 2016 election. Ingraham announced his bid for the seat on March 31. He currently serves as the Republican Majority leader of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM).  The 102nd seat is held by Branford resident Lonnie Reed (D), who announced her re-election bid in January.

Ingraham issued a statement on his decision to withdraw from the race today, the full text of which appears below.

July 28, 2016:  Today, after discussion with my family, I have decided to withdraw from the race for the 102nd District legislative seat. Since I first announced, a series of events, both personal and related to the election, have helped me and my family determine that this is not the best time to run.

First, due to layoffs at the company I had worked at for 15 years, I found myself suddenly in a job hunt. Second, a major medical issue with my sister now has her hospitalized, which has taken up a significant amount of my time and energy.

Additionally, there are questions regarding our funding as part of the Citizens Election Program. I made a mistake with filing information on a few online donations that were made by supporters early on that were made online, it has delayed our funding. In those cases, to speed up the process, I signed personally for four donors where it was missing with the donation forms. All have confirmed their donations, but this was a serious error in judgment on my part. This is my fault, and was avoidable. At this point, with this and the sudden issues going on personally, I feel it would be best to withdraw from the race.

I love this town, and will continue to work hard for it as a member of the RTM. I thank everyone who shared their support for me and the campaign. It has been an honor and I will be forever grateful for that support.

[signed] Ray Ingraham